A Life Worth Living
by MoonBeamXVII
Summary: Melody's a quiet girl without many complaints, but when she is attacked by creatures and forced to leave her home, how can she possibly cope; especially when she finds herself in completely different worlds with strange creatures and a deal on her heart.
1. Unexpected Occurrences

My first story! I'm so excited! So this is (as you know) a crossover of Kingdom Hearts and Pokemon. lol

I want all the comments your thinking no matter what okay? If you have anything you think I should add tell me. I'll try and be good about updating, but try and keep in mind I have school work to do too.

So without further adue, here's A Life Worth Living

...xXxXx...

Chapter One: Unexpected Occurrences

"The unexpected and the strange, somehow always have a way of finding you. I guess you just have to deal with it when it does." Entry 26

The cold air sent shivers down my back as I waited for the train to come. I was heading home from school that day, when one of the girls form my class caught me off guard. She had drifted off during an "important lecture" and asked if she could copy my notes down and give them back tomorrow. I have a hard time saying no to people so I didn't really give it a second thought as to how it would affect my learning. I had to dig for them out of my school bag, which was never organized. How many times had I told myself I would straighten it out?

She seemed grateful that I had given her the notes, but didn't say anything. She just walked away with a smile on her face. Glad I could be of service, I thought. That's what I felt like a lot; Melody Black, the school servant. But then again, tenth graders were rude like that. I was part of the maybe dozen kids or so, who weren't. No one expected us to form a clique or speak out against any of the already formed ones. This isolation put us at an advantage. No one tried to communicate with us. If they did, the members in their clique would probably harass us. That happened to one boy in my neighboring class last year. A cheerleader was flirting with him during study hall. When the jocks, who normally dated the cheerleaders, found out about it, they planned to jump the poor kid after school the following day. The boy ended up with a fractured tailbone, third degree burns on his left arm, and three broken ribs. He missed half of the school year going in and out of the hospital.

As I walked down the stairs to catch the bus to my street, I saw the Principal wave to the bus driver at the head of the line to pull out. I raced as fast as I could manage to catch up before my bus pulled out, but I am literally the most, slowest person you could ever meet. I missed the bus by a full twenty seconds. The Principal looked at me with an expression of pity. Oh well. Trains are my second most favorite means of transportation- if you ruled out walking.

The walk to the train station was only about ten minutes, but the waiting was another story entirely. It was only fall, yet the temperature felt like winter to me. I was probably catching a cold with all the running around I was doing lately. However, if I got sick nothing would be done around the house.

I lived with my parents who worked well paying jobs. Those jobs let me have more material things than most families could afford. They also kept my parents away from me. I would get up at seven o' clock every day and go to school before anyone else was awake. My mother would take my sister, Serene, to school and pick her up at two. Therefore, she spent the majority of the day with her. She gets to play around in her office every day. My father and mother would take my sister and eat out half of the time before they came home. That left me to fend for myself at night. When they finally did decide to come home, I was always asleep. There have been rare nights when I'm still awake cleaning up and they pop in a little earlier than usual. Those nights there is never anything to talk about so I just go to my room and make sure my things are set for the next day.

Today left me feeling a little lonely though. My parents were both out on business trips. They wouldn't be back for at least three days. My mother was going to take my sister with her. She "said" she would call me. So far, she's managed to get a single text message through. I couldn't blame her. She was just a busy person.

I stood at the station off to one side waiting for the number ten southbound. Since I had next to no friends, I didn't complain when some girl stood next to me, talking on her cell phone to her boyfriend. She had to be about my age, but for a fourteen year old, she sure had a mouth on her. She got on the eight southbound and I was once again left alone.

No one can afford to hitch a ride on the train to the tenth base where I take residence in a practically abandoned house. Those who can afford the ride generally own a car. When I was one of the last three people left in the station, I wasn't surprised. I wouldn't have been surprised if I was the only one left. Our base was the last one so no one from other bases was there either. Bases were gatherings of small houses in reserved areas. There were ten altogether. One was the most populated. Ten was the least. My parents could probably relocate to a better base, but they insist that it's easier to maintain a house in the tenth base. I think it's only because the more decent the base is where you live, the more you'd have to pay for everyday necessities.

I pulled my jacket as tight as I could make it. The temperature seemed to have dropped at least another ten degrees. It could start snowing any minute and not have an effect on me. It was late November and we still hadn't any. I was glad too. Snowy weather did do me any good. I focused on the train coming down the track toward us. It was at least a quarter mile away when it somehow stalled on the bridge. We, being the two others from base ten and I, stared at the stalled out train hoping it was just a momentary delay. I figured they would get it back moving in a little bit. Then I notice the wheels. They were still moving! How could the train be stationary if the wheels were turning full throttle.

Without warning, a gush of cold air blew at us from all directions at once. My jacket witch had kept the majority of my body warm was now, without my control, wide open inviting every drop of cold air to settle on my exposed skin. A meter away or so, a giant hole appeared in the middle of the station. I backed away cautiously not wanting to fall in of anything. Suddenly these blackened creatures with bright yellow eyes, started climbing their way out of the hole. There had to be fifty of them. The two who hadn't had the wits to move away when the hole appeared, were now running away in panic. They didn't get far before the creatures pounced on them. Whatever happened to them I don't know, because the next second I was running full speed away from them. When I did glimpse back at where the people were, I almost fell on my face. I thought I was slow earlier that day. Now it seemed as if I'd been practicing for a track meet.

Even though I was extremely careful about where I placed my feet, I still managed to fall on my face. I hit my head hard on the cement. Now the black creatures were gaining on me. In seconds, they would be upon me. I couldn't move anymore. My legs were paralyzed. I was paralyzed. I closed my eyes and counted in my head. One…Two…Three…Four…Five…Six…Wait! I estimated about two. Something was wrong. Those creatures had only been about ten feet away.

I peeked through narrow eyes to see someone standing before me. He was of medium height and had a graceful posture. The hood on his black jacket covered his head. When he turned and removed the hood from his head to look at me, my breath caught in my throat. He was gorgeous. I stared as his fiery-red hair, which draped over his deep blue eyes, blew in the gentle breeze. He had a worried-yet-stern look on his face, and his eyes made him look serene. He had to be about my age.

I looked behind him to where the creatures were ready to descend, and found nothing. The boy extended his hand to me. It was an offer to help me off the ground. I hesitantly took the offer. When I was standing, I backed away slightly. I wasn't going to underestimate him-even if he did save my life. Then it occurred to me. He saved me from those things! I had no actual evidence that he did, but he was the only one here now. The two people who were with me at the station weren't. Those black creatures weren't. The only person here was this mysterious boy. Besides, I doubt those things would stop to consider if he was worth attacking or not.

"Thank you." I said. He looked at me with worry in his eyes. Who is this boy, I thought to myself. He didn't look the least bit familiar. I knew almost every face in school and an approximate one-mile radius from it. I'd never seen his before.

"You should be more careful around here," he replied, "especially when it's almost dark out. There could be perverts lurking around the corner. You know what I mean?" I did know what he meant. It was dangerous for a girl my age to be about by herself at this time in the central base area. (It wasn't really a base. It was more like a city where you could buy things you couldn't get in regular bases.) The central base area was notorious for an ongoing of serious crimes lately. No one came here without at least another two people with him or her. Anyone could be caught up in gang activity or drug raids. Compared to this place, the tenth base seemed almost middle-class.

"Yeah, thanks." I agreed. "What were those things?" I asked him remembering the blackened creatures.

"What things?" he asked this as if he didn't know to what I was referring. "Those creatures you saved me from." I told him. Maybe he thought I had meant thank you for helping me up. "I mean the black things that were chasing me."

"Maybe you hit your head a little too hard when you fell." He turned to walk away. I can't let him leave yet, I told myself.

"Wait!" I shouted taking a step toward him. My balance was off, though, and I ended up falling again. The boy grabbed my arm before I could hit the ground. He steadied me in front of him.

"Maybe I should take you home." He looked me in the eye. I could tell he was serious. I nodded and we made our way to the station just as the train was pulling in. "This is your train right?" I made out the number ten on the front of it and nodded again.

"You live in the tenth base too?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "I'm just visiting family. I got here a little early though. I decided to make a surprise visit yesterday but no one was home." He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to me for a closer look. It was a brochure of a nearby hotel. "I've been staying here for the past twenty-four hours."

We boarded the train and took a seat toward the back. There was a receipt folded into it. I looked at the price he paid for the room and compared it to the price on the brochure.

"They got you out of an extra fifty bucks." I told him casually.

He snatched the papers from my hand and stared at it intently. "Where?" he asked alarmed. I pointed to the price on the brochure. It was for one of the fancy comfort rooms. They run up to forty dollars a night. However, he paid a full ninety.

He sighed and slouched back into his seat. He knew there was nothing he could do about it now. "I thought something was off about their pricing." I let out a soft chuckle. That was something I rarely did. He looked at me and smiled. His stern expression disappeared and a soft, gentle one replaced it. I held out my hand to him.

"I'm Melody." He took my hand and gently shook it.

"I'm Darius." He dropped my hand and looked out the window He seemed to have something on his mind, now. We had just started moving.

"I have a question." I blurted out. He looked at me suspiciously. "When you found me on the ground," I started. "Did you see anything weird?"

"You mean as in black creatures chasing you?" I nodded. "No. When I saw you, you were on the ground with your eyes pinched shut. Honestly I-." He cut off mid-sentence. The blush on his cheeks was unmistakable embarrassment.

I looked at him sideways. "Honestly you...?"

He thought about it carefully before continuing. "I thought some pigs had left you there." He chose his words carefully, too, trying not to offend me. Nevertheless, I knew what he meant. He thought some worthless men had attacked a poor defenseless girl and ran off. This did offend me. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't defend myself. I held in any objections I might have, though. I didn't want to start any arguments.

"But you were looking away from me when I opened my eyes." I thought he had fought off the creatures. "And what about the other two people who were at the station with me?" I knew, for certain, there were people there.

"I was looking to see if I could find someone nearby to accuse. And there was no one else at the station with you; or at least not when I arrived anyway." I couldn't believe it. There was no way I could have imagined the whole thing. The people who were waiting with me; the giant whole in the ground appearing out of nowhere; those blackened creatures crawling out of it; hollow, yellow eyes, waiting for me to trip and fall. How could any of it be my imagination?

...xXxXx...

We sat in silence for the rest of the ride. It took only twenty minutes to get to base ten. Once there we were directed to the main square where we had to show these officers, called Monitors, our ID's. They had to put a stamp in Darius's since he was just visiting.

I lived on the fifth street over. It was covered in trees and a decent looking drive. The people who lived on this street had to have money to stay there. I found out that the place Darius was headed was only about five houses down. Since it was, he walked me all the way to the front door. I unlocked the door and was about to head in when he grabbed my hand. He was now wearing a look of pure panic.

"You're here by yourself aren't you?" He was looking at the windows of my house. They were still dark. No one had turned them on all day. Even if my parents weren't away on business they'd still be off right now.

I yanked my hand away from him. "I'll be fine. It's not like I haven't been home alone before." In fact, I'm home alone quite often. I practically live alone.

"I want to know you're safe though." He sounded completely sincere.

"Here," I said pulling out a pen. "This is my cell and home phone number." I wrote down the fourteen digits and signed my name underneath it. "Now if you get really worried you can just call to check up on me. Okay?"

"Okay." He agreed.

"Jeez. I've never had this much fuss over me before. Not even by my own parents." He looked even more concerned now. "You better get going now. It's going to get cold." He nodded and took off down the street. I went inside to warm up. I had a lot of homework to do too.

I went to my room to change out of my uniform. I had a hard time unfastening the knot on my tie. They were unnecessarily complicated to wear. Most of the kids wore clip on tie so they didn't have to hassle with tying and untying. My mother promised to buy one for me next week. I threw on a pair of sweats and a slightly baggy T-shirt. When I was done changing, I started some dinner. I placed a pot of water over the fire just as the phone rang. I was going to ignore it but I thought it might be my mother.

"Hello?" I spoke into the phone.

"Hey. I was just calling to check up on you. Is everything alright?" Darius's voice asked earnestly.

"You just left ten minutes ago." I said firmly. "I doubt much would have happened."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Hey, listen. The people I'm supposed to stay with aren't back yet. Do you know if there are any hotels around here?"

"Um … Yeah, actually there is." I said. "It's down the street to your left. You can't miss it."

"Okay thanks. I'll call you when I get there." I was about to protest when he hung up. This was going to get annoying. I could feel it. How a fourteen-year-old could rent a hotel room by himself anyway. I guess people just want their money and don't care from who it come from or how they got it.

I put some noodles on to boil and fried some ham to go on top of them. There was still some of my special sauce left in the fridge. By time I was done making my plate, there was still enough food for two more people.

I plopped down on the sofa in the living room with my food and turned to the news. The temperature really had dropped low. Since it was humid this week and now with the plummeting temperature, snow was a given for tonight. That made me a little depressed. I hated snow; the way it made everything icky and slick. There was no news of black creatures attacking anyone, so I decided to block the whole thing from my mind altogether. It had to have been my imagination running wild.

The phone rang again and I just knew it was Darius again. I set my food on the table in front of me and went to answer it. "What do you want this time?" I said rudely.

"If you didn't want me to call you, I wouldn't have bothered," my mother's voice rang though the line.

"Oh, m-mom… I thought you were someone else. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I should have called you earlier. Have you eaten anything?"

"Yes. I made too much though."

"Don't let it go to waste. I heard it was snowing over there. I talked to Mrs. Yamashita a little while ago and she said it was coming down hard." That was funny. I didn't think it would start snowing until tomorrow or at least late tonight. I walked over to the window and peered outside. It was a blizzard out there.

"She was right. It's still going on right now."

"Okay then. I'm glad you're doing fine. I have to go now, but behave. Remember what I said about the food."

"I will. Don't worry about me."

"Okay then. I love you."

"I love you, too." She hung up and I walked back over to the window. The snow was coming down hard. I noticed a figure running down the street. He must have been insane to be out in that weather. I watched as he passed my house and suddenly stopped. He then made a beeline directly to my door. I saw his face clearly, now that the light from the hallway leading outside illuminated it. I went to open the door for him before he froze to death.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked Darius. Didn't he know this was not the weather to be wandering around outside in?

"I called you and you didn't answer," was his reply. He stood there shivering like Chihuahua. "I thought you might be in trouble." He was barely audible.

I stared at him in silence for a moment before I invited him in. "Come in before you freeze." He looked at me bewildered. Did he not expect this much from me? Did he really think that low of me? He saved my life earlier, no matter what he said. This was the least I could do. "I doubt you actually registered into the hotel," I told him. He shook his head and hung it low. "Well then… I guess you'll just have to stay here for the time being. At least until the snow clears up a little."

He followed me into the living room where my last meal was still waiting. I could still see the steam rising from the dish so I knew it was still hot … or at least warm. I turned to ask if Darius wanted some and instead caught him eying my plate. I went to the kitchen and came back out with big plate of noodles topped with fried ham. I even put a little of the sauce on the side in case he didn't really like it. He did. He even wanted more when he ran out.

When he was done with the food, we sat in front of the television for a while. At least I did. He was reading some book with strange symbols of the cover. Every now and then, I would catch him making markings in it.

By eleven, he looked as if he was going to pass out. I decided it would be a good idea to let him sleep in my parent's room, which was further away than if he slept on the couch. It was weird giving him my father's pajamas to wear. They were too big for him, but they were the only thing I could give him. It was weird watching him. I had just met this boy a few hours ago and now he was sleeping in my parent's bedroom. I knew absolutely nothing about him yet I felt as if I could trust him wholeheartedly. He honestly, he reminded me of a child.

Once he was sleeping, I quickly changed into my pajamas. I didn't like them. They were cold and didn't do well for me on cold nights. If I had the chance, I would make my own line of clothing. However, now the only thing I was "allowed" to do was study and keep up my grades. We wouldn't want to make a bad reputation for myself after my parents had worked so hard for theirs.

I stretched out on my bed and started my homework for the week. It wasn't officially due until Friday, but I liked to get a head start on my work. I could hear Darius in the other room. He wasn't snoring, but his breathing was extremely deep. I tried to figure out how the day had turned out. I'd gone to school; I was taking the bus home; I was saved by Darius; He is now spending the night. My head started to hurt and I gave up on the details.

I fell asleep still thinking about the mysterious boy in the next room over. I needed a plan to deal with him but I was too tired to think about it. I would get my thoughts organized later. I left my door open a crack and climbed into bed. My homework was three quarters of the way done so I didn't have to worry about that minor detail. I drifted off into a dreamless night and didn't waken until morning.

...xXxXx...

I woke up to the usual television blaring in the living room. I set it up so that it would go as loud as possible at seven every morning. If it didn't I doubt I would ever get to school on time. Moreover, having Darius there made it even more vital that I get up on time. I couldn't leave him by himself that was for sure.

I walked groggily to the TV to turn it down when I noticed Darius sitting on the couch with both of his hands pressing against his ears. He was hunched over with his eyes closed. The television must have woken him up and he couldn't turn it off. I pressed mute on one of the six remote controls and walked over to where he was sitting. I placed my hand on his shoulders and he jumped about three inches into the air. Didn't mean to startle you, I thought,

"Sorry," I told him. "I didn't mean it. I swear."

He shook his head. "No need to apologize. I should have been more alert." That set me back a minute. Why would he need to be alert in my house? I was the one who needed to be more alert. He looked directly at me and I had to catch my breath. He was stunning even in my father's oversized clothes. Even in near darkness. I took in all of what I could see from the light of the television. "Why were you trying to get up so early in the first place?" he asked.

"I need to get ready for school, believe it or not." The reminder of school forced me to look away at the boy and at the TV screen. I still couldn't come to terms with how gorgeous he was.

I focused on the screen and remembered it was still on mute. I turned up the volume and intently studied the screen. Apparently, there was a double murder in the central base area. There wasn't a lot of information available yet. Just that it was a man and woman. They were either dating or married. The commentator mentioned something about it being their anniversary. The deaths didn't faze me. People had been dropping like flies for the past month now. It wasn't hard to believe that these two were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I didn't have time to feel sorry for the couple because something in the corner of the screen caught my complete attention. The temperature for today was negative thirty-eight degrees! Somehow, the snowstorm that came though during the night left in its wake several feet of snow. I listened to the commentator describe the aftermath. "Three bases have been hit with this epidemic and it is still moving on to further ones. Residences of bases nine and ten are suggested to remain indoors at this time. I repeat; residences of bases nine and ten are suggested to remain indoors at this time." That can't be, I thought to myself. It was clear yesterday. How could so much snow have fallen already?

I raced over to the window to investigate this sudden occurrence. Sure enough, there was at least four feet of snow on the ground. Frankly, it looked as if an army of snowplows dumped all the snow from every base here. However, the weather reporter had mentioned something about three bases having this snow. Darius crept up beside me. I hadn't seen him come and jumped back away from the window.

"It looks bad out there." I told him when I regained my composure. "I think we'll have to stay here today. We would probably freeze if we stepped outside." He nodded and I walked to the TV, pressed a button and watched as the screen went black. I hadn't turned on any lights so the dark from the room overwhelmed us.

"I have to check and see if anyone's home," Darius said. This was not a wise decision. Even the weatherman said to stay indoors.

"I just said we should stay in today." I reminded him.

"But I… I …I have to-"

"You have to nothing. You can call if you're so worried." I tossed him the cordless phone and he fumbled to catch it. "Tell them where you are, that you're okay, and will try and come as soon as possible. They'll understand."

He didn't argue anymore. Instead, he dialed a number and waited for someone to pick up. "Hello?" the voice said on the other end of the line. He must have pressed the speakerphone when he caught it.

"What the-" The surprise on his face was a little amusing. "How do I turn it off?" he asked to himself. He found the speaker phone button and turned away from me. "Yes it's me." He looked back to me with a sorry expression. "I'm actually a lot closer than you think. The snows just got me stranded." He paused to let the other person speak. "I'm about five doors down from you." There was another pause. "Yeah well, unless you postpone it, I can't come back! Do you see how much snow there is out there?" He was upset now. I began to wish he hadn't found that speaker button. Then I would know about what they were talking. "Just about thirty minutes. That gives me time to get over there and get things situated over here." The pause that came was even longer than the other ones. "Yes, don't worry. No one knows. I'll be there soon."

"Are you in trouble?" I asked as he hung up.

"No. I just need to get going soon." He looked back out the window. "The snow will stop soon. When it does, I need to leave." His face was serious.

"Fine, but if you freeze to death, it won't be my fault," I told him. He shrugged and sat on the couch again. I decided I couldn't make him stay. Besides, his face told me that his leaving was of an urgent matter.

...xXxXx...

We waited for about twenty minutes before the snow calmed down. In the meantime, we ate breakfast and watched a little TV. Actually, I questioned him the whole time and missed the first half of the show. When it was time for him to go, I was regretting that I didn't ask any important questions. So far, all I knew was that his family was from a different country. They came to base ten to start small, even though they all had well-paying jobs. He wasn't enrolled in school yet. That was why I didn't recognize him before. If he did come to school soon, I figured we could be good friends.

I gave him my father's old winter jacket to wear over his black coat. It would keep him warm at least. He opened the door and gave a shudder at all the snow. "I'll be off then," he said giving a small sigh. I watched as he slowly stepped into the snow. His foot sank about three feet before he touched the cement. That included the foot of ledge used to get into the house itself. He shivered and looked at me. "It's so cold," he remarked laughing.

I smiled and he held out his hand. I took it without hesitation, though I should have. He wrapped his fingers around my hand and hoisted himself back onto the step. We were close. I turned to give him room, but as I did, something warm touched my cheek. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him pulling away to step back into the snow. The blush filled my cheek uncontrollably. I couldn't even speak to protest about personal space. He ran a few yards away waving to me. The blush was just as clear on his face as I knew it was on mine.

I watched, still wide eyed, as he disappeared into the neighboring house. Even after five minutes had passed, I was still standing there in awe. "He kissed me," I finally managed to utter. The shock on my face was being replaced by a genuine smile, one that rarely surfaced. I looked up to the sky. The snow had started falling again. I'd seen it hundreds of times before; the white, fluffy, cold clumps that fell to the earth. I'd never been particularly fond of snow; however, watching it at that moment seemed to stir something inside of me. For the first time in my life, I actually appreciated the stuff. I still hated it, but I now appreciated the time it gave me with the boy; and I couldn't wait for it to melt so I could see him again.

...xXxXx...

And the first chapter is done! I hope you liked it.

If you like it review. If you don't .. review anyways. The more reviews I get the more likely I'll post more. No reviews I'll take it you didn't really like it.

But I'll still post more eventually lol.


	2. Living Nightmares

Yay! Chapter 2! I finally have chapter 2 up. Now to get past 3.

I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the last.

On with A Life UnWorth Living

...xXxXx...

Chapter Two: Living Nightmares

"When sleep comes at night—and dreams take over your mind—it's wise to listen." Entry 18 ~ A Haiku ~

I stared out the window, through the heavily falling snow, and across the field, at the workers who were putting up the new siren. It's been almost three months since the disasters started and the snow began falling like this. Since then it's been a continued heavy snowfall. The one thing we were told to do when it started was stay indoors. The temperature hasn't risen above negative sixty degrees and the snow was at least six feet high. It blocked all the doors.

I've caught people sneaking out of their windows over to the next home, but that was about it. No one dared to stay out for more than five minutes, lest that person wanted to freeze. And several people have froze. I wouldn't have anywhere to go if I went out so I stayed indoors. A foolish move, some would say. Why stay inside when everything is out there? It was foolish in a way. At least now, they are with people they love and care for.

About week and a half after the snow started, once everyone had given up hope that it would clear up soon, boxes of food were being dropped in front of every house in the base. Each box contained a week's worth of food for your entire family. I was the exception. My box contained a month's worth of food. Therefore, the boxes that came after that first one, I just left out there for the government to pick up and deliver to a family in need. I took a second one about four weeks ago. It was almost all gone.

My house originally had four people in it, but my family was evacuated from base three during an earthquake, to a different base. From there they were moved to a different sector altogether. Base three is where my parents and little sister were on a business trip. It was completely destroyed after the earthquake. Base six, where they were relocated, ended up having a tsunami. It flooded the entire base. Other disastrous events have plagued the other six bases too. I believe one and two had an earthquake that caused a large forest fire that couldn't be put out for two weeks. The only bases that have not been evacuated yet are bases ten and nine.

As I thought about my family, a cold breeze drifted past me and sent Goosebumps crawling up my arm. I moved from the window and snuggled deep into the comforter to keep warm. Two or three weeks ago, the backup electrical unit went out. Now everyone was in a world of, not only cold, but also darkness. Blankets have been sent at the bottom of every box along with the food. Since I already had six in my house, along with the comforter I was under, I put it back outside for some other needy person to use. I threw in some nonperishable food that I would never eat, crayons, and paper. Hopefully when whoever picked it up saw what was inside knew it was meant for a child. The next box I received would go back with four blankets and some more paper. I only needed the comforter to keep warm. And the extra two blankets would be for emergency use.

I sat in the living room feeling lonely again. The most communication I had with my family since the snow started was with my mother to make sure everyone was all right. She was, obviously. My father and sister had met up with her in base six before the flooding. Now I had no way of contacting her with the phones all down. Even my cell was out of service. I doubted I would get to see them again. Nevertheless, as long as they were safe I would be fine. It wasn't as if we were much of a family unit before.

I kept in contact with Darius for that time. We talked on the phone every night until the power shut down and even then he would leave notes in a crack in the door and pick up the ones I'd sent back. He was brave for going out in such cold. Even if it was for a short period of time. We had gotten to know each other really well though.

Other than having no one to talk to, there was absolutely nothing to do. I had come into possession of several art supplies and a truckload of copy paper on my raid through the house. All of it seemed to be mysteriously hidden in well-concealed places. I mean, why would anyone, unless it was against the law, hide paintbrushes in an empty cereal box? I didn't dwell too long on the mysteries of my parents. It only caused the loneliness to resurface after I suppressed it.

All of the materials I found seemed to be made for professional use. There was an abundance of fine, smooth acrylic paints, pencils made out of soft wood and pens with grips so you didn't get cramps in your hands. I, at one point, found color pastels, but put the back at the idea of breaking the fragile looking things.

I tried to write a story to pass the time when I first found everything. But when I got to the second chapter, I couldn't keep going. I found myself doodling in the margins and on scrap papers. It was always the same thing. A black scribble that took shape into the black creature that occasionally chased me around in my dreams. I bet if I wrote a story about that day, I wouldn't get distracted.

I pushed the thought out of my head and tried to focus on a happier thought. Immediately I thought of Darius down the street. I knew I would see him once the snow cleared and the ice melted. But seeing, as there hasn't been more than a five-minute break at a time, I doubted that would be soon. The more I thought of him the hotter my face was becoming. The blush was an instant reaction when I thought about the kiss he planted on my cheek.

Along with the warm feeling was a mental imprint of his face in my mind. I even managed to draw out a few random sketches of him. There was only one that I really liked though. It was of him sitting with a book like when we first met. His facial expression was the same as when we first met, too. He had that stern yet humored look. And his posture was elegant and intimidating all in one. I even drew his coat with maximum detail. I was thinking about coloring it in when it was done, but other coloring attempts ended in an epic failure. I settled on shading it in with a pencil. Besides, I thought, leaving it gray-scale makes him look even more mysterious.

I tried hard to focus on the scribble I was making on a new sheet of paper, but my eyes were getting heavy and suddenly closing. I held on until I couldn't hold them open any longer. The days seemed to be running into one another lately and I didn't keep track of the time. I got up and looked out the window. It was dark out. The clock in the room said ten thirty-two. I decided to sleep on the couch. At the moment, my room felt like it was a mile away. And it wasn't as if anyone was going to come over and see me. I placed two couch pillows next to each other for my head and pulled the comforter up to my chin. Even under the cover, I still tried to stay awake. However, the drowsiness overpowered me in the end.

...xXxXx...

I was running. Why was I running? Where was I going? What was going on? Not stopping the pace of my feet I looked back to see what had happened. There they were, a hoard of them, all running after me. I could see them thirsting for me. I knew I was going to die. These black, heartless creatures were trying to kill me and I could barely keep away from them.

I looked back to take in my surroundings. I was running through a forest. Twigs were snapping under my bare feet. Branches reached down from nowhere and struck my face. My breathing was coming out sharp and my lungs felt as though they were going to explode. How long had I been running?

Suddenly I was falling. One of the creatures had jumped on me and I easily lost my balance. I tried to scream but when I opened my mouth to do so, nothing came out. Instead, I could only watch as the earth rose toward me. I would hit the ground and the rest of the yellow-eyed monsters would descend. I closed my eyes and tensed my muscles, anticipating the impact. But when I reopened my eyes, nothing was there. The creatures were gone. So was the forest. Now I was just falling through a black void.

I fell until I landed, on my feet (which were bloodied from running), on a platform. It was a pure black, flat surface, with a single yellow ring in the center. It seemed to be made out of glass. I walked over to the edge of the platform and looked over it, almost falling in the process. I could see no trace of light. Not wanting to fall again, I went over and sat down in the center of the platform.

Just then, bright lights appeared out of nowhere and surrounded me. There were eight in all. I thought maybe those creature were coming back to finish me off. My heart raced at the thought of those things coming back for me. But they didn't. Instead, the eight lights turned into eight ornaments. Like something that could be hung on a Christmas-tree. I studied them all trying to figure out a meaning behind them. The one directly in front of me was shaped like a crescent moon. Slowly I walked to it, wanting to pick it up. As I did, I noted that it was actually a sphere. When I turned it, the shape of it changed; just like a real moon.

Looking closely at the others, I noticed they each had a kind of uniqueness about them. I held each one in turn thinking intently about what they could be. There was a star and a leaf, a water droplet, a flame and a sun, a lightning bolt and a snow crystal. I liked the star, leaf and moon the best. The star was a medallion that reflected light, giving it the appearance of having four, five, and then six points. The leaf was three-dimensional that, changed colors. Almost as if it was fast-forwarding the year so all the seasons fit into a few seconds. The moon was still my favorite and I held onto it.

As I placed the star back where I found it, the floor began to open up. No, it sunk inward. I felt like a rock in a wet paper towel. Once again I was falling, the earth rushing up to meet me. However, I wasn't falling like when I had tripped. Air was rushing past me, as if I had jumped off a plane and was plummeting toward the ground without a parachute. I opened my mouth and let out a high-pitched scream that sounded almost like a siren right before I hit.

...xXxXx...

I was still screaming when I woke up. I had also managed to fall off the couch onto the floor. My shoulder hurt and I just knew I was going to get a bruise. I slowly got up to my feet. Something was off. Normally, as long as I'm standing still, I have decent balance. Now I could barely hold myself upright. Moreover, even though I was done screaming that siren like wail was still ringing in my ears. What was going on? Suddenly the house began to shake violently. The wail was becoming more distinct. The siren went off! They were evacuating us! The ground was still shaking, but I tried to make it to the front door anyway. I fell several times in the process, making the twenty feet of so feel like a mile. Eventually I made it to the door, only to find that the door wouldn't open. How was I going to get out?

I made a quick decision to try the window upstairs. It was directly above the door, so even if I couldn't jump, I could find out why I couldn't open the door. Before I reached the window, I could already see what my dilemma was. The telephone pole was gone. I hoisted the glass up and got a face full of cold air. I peered down and sure enough, the telephone pole was lying on the ground in front of the door. The distance to the ground was a long way down and I doubted I would have the courage to make that kind of a leap anyway.

I walked out the room trying not to fall when everything went still. Was the quake over? The lights in the hall were now flickering. Taking short and slow steps, I made my way to the stairs. My hearts literally stopped when I saw what was on them; the blackened creatures with the glowing yellow eyes. One of them turned its head and stared into my eyes. Just like last time, I became utterly paralyzed. But not for long, for the creature that saw me was now making its way up the staircase, and I wasn't about to find out why.

I sped down the hall and into a storage closet. Inside was the 'collection' of memorable items my father kept. Bike chains, an old box of whistles, even a bag of Technicolor handkerchiefs. He was a hoarder, but refused to be called one. And for once, I was grateful he was. I grabbed two rusty bike chains and fastened heavy combination locks onto the ends of them. I opened the door of the closet and swung menacingly at one of my pursuers. The lock connected with the things face and it disappeared into a thick cloud of black smoke.

"Well if that's all it takes," I said to no one. The creatures had stopped to evaluate the damage I had done. Several of them had backed off, but the bigger ones kept right on advancing toward me. Instead of staying in the narrow hallway, I turned and headed up another set of stairs to the roof. There I might have a chance of getting though these things, I thought.

Once I made it to the attic, I opened up another window and climbed onto the flat part of the roof. I made my way to the center of it with bare feet. The adrenaline rushing though my body made it so I didn't feel the cold. I watched as the black things poured out of the window onto the roof. They made a semicircle around me. I held the chains out in front of me like nun-chucks, ready to fight to the death if need be.

Just as the first creature attacked, I heard someone call out my name. I swiped with one chain and hit the thing across the chest making more smoke appear. Now that the others were backing away, I looked to see Darius, looking twice his size due to the layers of clothing he had on him. Two men were with him trying to move the telephone pole out of the way so they could enter.

I turned to them, ready to call for help when another of the black creatures jumped on me. Just like in my dream, I began falling. The earth was rising up toward me. I would surely hit the ground and die this time. At least I didn't have to worry about those things killing me. But I couldn't die. Then Darius and company would be targeted. I couldn't let that happen. I reached up and grabbed hold of the gutter. I was alive for the time being. The creature that attacked me however was not so lucky. It had lost its grip on me and went plummeting to the ground.

A mob of my pursuers was gathered above my head reaching desperately for me. I looked down so tell Darius to run away before the creatures spotted him, but I saw no one there. I could only wish he had sense enough to leave after seeing them. But just as fast as my hopes rose, they diminished. A black blur was sent over the edge of the roof, then another and then another. Was he really fighting them?

I hoisted myself up and got an eyeful of Darius fending off my attackers with a headless broomstick. He was winning too. I pulled myself back into the fight and took out four more attackers. In all Darius got at least, ten and I got seven. And one of mine was an accident. I fell to my knees spent. I didn't even have the energy to climb back through the window. My feet were numb and my body was shuddering from the cold. The last thing I remember was warm hands picking me up and carting me back inside.

...xXxXx...

I woke up underneath my comforter, on top of the couch in my living room. My head hurt and my feet were so cold they felt like they had been it a bucket of ice for a month. I uncovered my feet to see they were bright red. Maybe they were in a bucket of ice. At least my nightmare about the blackened creatures was over.

I slowly rose and walked over to the kitchen, which smelled good. When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Darius standing there. What was he doing in my house? I felt a little more secure knowing he was here, however my fear of why he was here overpowered that joy. I was scared so I shut the door. I had just finished dreaming about this boy coming to my rescue. And now he was in my home. There was a bike chain on the floor to the left of me and picked it up. I would use it as protection if it came down to it. Again, I opened the door and this time took a few steps in. Darius froze and slowly turned his head to face me. The relief on his face when he saw me made me relax a bit as well. I wasn't going to let down my guard though.

"What are you doing here?" I asked coldly.

"What do you mean, 'What are you doing here'?" he turned his entire body toward me now. "I was trying to keep you from getting pneumonia, that's what." He looked a little offended by my comment.

"Why would I get pneumonia?" I asked shocked at his excuse.

"You were outside, half naked, in the freezing cold." He came closer to me and I let my guard down. I knew he wasn't going to harm me. "You were on the roof fighting off those creatures, remember?"

"So… that wasn't a dream? Those things really were trying to kill me?"

"I'm so sorry I didn't believe you when you mentioned them before," he said wrapping his arms around me. My heart was beating a million mile an hour. I couldn't believe he was so close to me right now. I pressed myself closer to him and his arms grew tighter. He let me go and held me at arm's length, eyes analyzing me. I couldn't help but blush. "You seem healthy enough," he said randomly. "Are you hungry?" I nodded and he steered me to a chair.

Once he was back at the stove, I became curious as to what he was making. Only about a dozen houses or so still had the ability to cook. The stoves in those houses were run on gas. I would have heated up the house with it but I didn't know how long. I rose and stood next to him by the stove. He was cooking dried fish and rice. I didn't recall having any fish left over from the box.

"Where'd you get the fish from?" I asked.

"I found a lot of it the neighboring houses. Almost no one ate the stuff."

"You stole it?" I was yelling now.

"No! Everyone was evacuated remember. We're the only ones left in any of the bases."

Yes. He was right. When those black things attacked me, the alarm had gone off. Only an idiot would stay behind; which says a lot about Darius staying to save me. He must have known he would have been left behind if he didn't leave with everyone else. And what happened to the two men who were moving the pole away from the door? What about them? "Darius…?" I stopped myself. What happened if those things had attacked them? What happened if they were dead?

"What is it?" He asked softly.

"What happened to the two men who were with you?"

"What do you mean?" he asked as if he had no clue as to about whom I was talking. I looked at him expectantly. "Oh, you mean Dilan and Aeleus. They went on ahead. I told them I could handle it on my own. They said when they make it to the relocation area, they'll find someone to come and get us. I told them to meet us at the middle of the Base, bi the train station." This made me feel better.

"But if everyone evacuated, that means we have to fend for ourselves until they find us." I told him.

"We'll manage," he confirmed scooping a good-sized serving of rice into a bowl. "Want some fish?" he asked holding out a piece with his chopsticks. I held the bowl out as a yes.

We ate in silence. It was awkward sitting with him this time. Three months ago, I would have enjoyed spending time with him. Now it seemed almost… unfortunate. When we were done eating, we decided to get some sleep. I brought out all the blankets and let him pick out the ones he wanted to use. He chose two heavy quilts and a soft blanket to use in my parents room. I used the comforter again and slept in my own bed for the night. I would need all the warmth it could give me for the night.

...xXxXx...

The cold settled on my skin as I ran through the forest again. This time I was the one in pursuit. But of what was I in pursuit? I stopped in the middle of the forest to figure out what I was doing. My dreams seemed to be in the same setting every time. I looked around trying to get my bearings when something ran past me. That was it! The thing I was after; it ran right past me. I still didn't know what it was, but I knew it was important.

Again, I began my pursuit. Catching glimpses of the creature every now and then, I followed it into a clearing where I was stunned to see hundreds of them in all different colors. Some were blue, others were yellow, and I even caught an eyeful of pure purple ones. This is what I was looking for. I knew it was.

I walked forward to get a better view of the things when a red one with her that resembled fire turned and hissed at me. "Flare!" it yelled. It walked toward me and I saw its mouth start to glow a bright orange.

Suddenly, a black creature jumped in front of me and knocked the little red one to the ground. For a second I thought it was one of the creatures that attacked me before, but when it turned, it was obvious it wasn't. The thing had yellow rings on it and bright red eyes. The creature reminded me of the black platform from my last dream. The black creature was slightly bigger than the red one so I was safe for the time being. The red one walked back into the mob and disappeared.

Just as fast, as the creature saved me, it turned on me. "Bree, breon!" it yelled at me.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Bree, breon!" it repeated louder. Gradually more of the creatures started appearing. One by one, these strange animals surrounded me. I was just about to run when a small, fluffy brown and tan creature jumped onto my arms. This is what I was looking for! This is why I was searching the woods. The brown creature licked me on the face. Without warning began to glow.

...xXxXx...

My eyes flew awake with a sudden awareness. I was burning up. My skin felt as though it was on fire. Slowly I made my way to the kitchen and poured a bottle of water into a plastic cup. The air around me seemed to be hot. I knew that wasn't possible because the generator had gone out weeks earlier. I walked into the living room and surprised myself to see the television covered in gray static. I ran over to the thermostat to see that it too was on … 97 degrees! No wonder I was roasting. Quickly I lowered the temperature to 70 and startled myself when I turned around to see Darius staring at me while turning off the television. I thought he didn't know how to turn off. It was dark now and my eyes didn't want to adjust.

"When did the power come back on?" he asked. I just shook my head. Obviously, while we were asleep, I thought. I walked over to the light switch to test them out. Sure enough, they came on without hesitation. I turned to Darius, about to make a smart comment, when once again I was shocked. I hadn't actually seen Darius come in so when I noticed him standing there with no shirt on my heart stopped beating all together. I turned and headed back to the kitchen as the blush swiftly spread across my face. WHY DOESN'T HE HAVE A SHIRT ON! I quickly pulled myself together and headed back to the living room. Darius was now sitting on the couch with a shirt now on but still wide open. "I think we need to leave," he said suddenly.

"What? Why?" I complained. "I mean where are we supposed to go?"

"I already told you, the men I was staying with are going to come get us. We need to be out in the open when they do. What a better time to do so, then while the power's on and the temperature is rising."

I looked away, embarrassed that would question him at this critical time. "Yeah, you're right." I said barely audible. He looked at me, a frown present on his face.

"Don't worry. We're going to get out of here." He placed both hands on my shoulders and bent down to look me in the eyes. "I promise." I smiled and nodded.

"Of course we will." I felt so stupid for doubting anything he said, but I did. So far, he'd been the only one who has even remotely made me feel safe. Without him, I would probably be dead.

"We'll leave in two hours. By then the sun should be up and it'll give us enough time to pack a few things for the trip."

"Yeah," I said walking to the window. "We better dress warm though. It might be warm in here but it's going to still be freezing out there." I shoved a thumb at the window.

Darius smiled lightly and my heart skipped a beat. "Sure thing," he agreed. I blushed and walked away to my room so I could get ready. Any longer with that face and I might just faint.

I quickly dressed myself extra warm for the trip. I also found an old duffel bag in my parent's room. I placed pencils and paper in the base of the bag along with extra socks and an extra pair of sweat pants off to the side. I placed my chains in one pocket. Darius fill the rest of the bag with nonperishable food (which was mainly dried fish and beef jerky) and cooking oil packets. When he wasn't looking, I placed a pair of long underwear, which used to belong to my father, in the remaining open space.

Once everything was packed and we were warm, we headed out. Darius was generous and carried the duffel bag. Along the way, we managed to pick up a second, smaller backpack and filled it too with food. We also found a gas lantern to use for light and if need be, heat. I figured we would be fine with what we had packed, but if worse came to be, and we were stranded in the station, we had better be prepared.

It would have taken us twenty minutes to walk to the station, but with all the stops in the abandoned houses, (numbering thirteen) it took us an hour and a half. We made it to the station in one piece at least.

"Well," Darius started. "Now we just have to wait." He dusted snow from a bench and set the duffel bag on it. I placed the small backpack next to it. The station was the center of town. If we weren't rescued here, we wouldn't be rescued at all.

I sat next to him on another bench. "Are you sure they'll be able to get back in to the base?" I asked.

Darius flashed a wicked gorgeous, yet sinister, smile. "Of course they will." I left it at that. I had no idea as to the arrangement these men made, and I was had no right to be asking a bunch of simple-minded questions.

"It's not as cold as it was before." I said trying to strike up a conversation.

"You're right. That's because it's almost time for spring." He was drawing squiggling lines on the frost on his pants.

"Of course it is. It was a long winter, wasn't it?"

"A boring one if you ask me." He was still doodling on his leg.

"I wish we could have hung out in different circumstances. It's a little depressing being like this." I looked down at the bench we were sitting on. The wind was blowing elegant designs in the dusty snow. Darius looked up from his picture and scooted closer to me.

"I know," he agreed. "But I'm glad I could still be with you at all. If I hadn't seen you on top of the roof and come to help, I would have never seen you again." He was right. I was surely going to die if he hadn't found me then.

"I know," I agreed scooting closer to him too until our arms were touching. "I know." Darius took my hand in his and drew me closer to him. He was warm and I just wanted to stay like that forever. However, life has a way of messing with you in the best possible way. Darius was leaning forward tantalizing a kiss, when dozens of those blacken creatures happened to appear out of nowhere!

The fear in my voice was unmistakable as I screamed. Darius jumped up and pulled me with him. As he did, the creatures began their pursuit. We ran past the bags, not bothering to get them, when I remembered the chains I had packed. Tearing away from Darius, I ran back to the only weapon I could think of. Just as I pulled them out of the secondary pocket one of the black creatures descended on me. It jumped into the air and knocked me to the ground. Luckily, I was faster at getting up and was able to hit it across the head with the lock on the end of one of the chains. It disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

Darius caught up to me with a long lead pipe in hand. With him, I was confident we could take them out. The first wave of attackers was the faster ones. Not giving any openings, we took them out easily. Every now and then, a bigger, stronger one would join in.

We managed to take out seventeen when there was a sudden vibration in the air. I knocked out another one and looked up to where the source of the noise was coming from. Directly above us was a helicopter. Darius took out two more and then called out to the crew. "Hey! We're down here!" He waved his lead pipe like a maniac. "HEY!" Suddenly a rope ladder fell from the sky. My heart fluttered with joy. We were saved!

Darius pushed me toward the rope, an indication that I should go first. I started climbing as he took out three more attackers. I was halfway up when he grabbed hold of the rope. He was climbing faster than I was and soon caught up to me. I tried to speed up but almost fell in the process. Several of our attackers were climbing up after us before the crew in the helicopter decided to fly higher. We were climbing thirty feet above the ground when the creatures caught up to us. Darius managed to kick three of them off, but one of them grabbed him by the ankle. It jerked him around until he lost his hold on the rope.

I watched in horror as Darius fell to the ground and the black creatures swallow him up. I was at the top of the ladder when two men pulled me into the helicopter. I struggled to break free of them, but they were too strong. I tried to make them go back for Darius, but they said no one could have survived a fall that far. Instead, I wept as they took me away from base ten, away from those things, away from whatever was left of Darius.

...xXxXx...

Just so you know I am cursing myself for this chapter. He wasn't supposed to fall. It just happened. Don't hate me.

Anyways... If you can figure out who the redhead is you get a cookie. And don't worry this'll be a happy story by the end okay.

Remember reviews are good for encouragement. I need motivation.


	3. A New Life

Chapter Three! It took forever! but I still finished it.

Well I hope you like it. ^ ^

...xXxXx...

Chapter Three: A New Life

"Change always comes, whether you ask for it or not." Entry 13

It's been three weeks since the evacuation of base ten. Three weeks since Darius fell to his doom. Three weeks since I was admitted to the hospital, for attempted suicide. The last three weeks have literally been a living hell. I have become completely sleep deprived thanks to my frequent nightmares. I have no appetite, causing malnutrition and pallor of the skin. The doctors said it was all due to the shock of the disaster.

My parents have not been located yet, but they managed to find my little sister. Apparently, she was separated from them when the mobs of people were rushing out of the base where they were. A nice elderly couple found her hiding inside an abandoned car and took her with them. When she was examined two weeks ago, the doctors found she had a fractured arm. Ironically, we ended up sharing a room. I never really bonded with my sister unless she was sick and I had to take care of her while my parents worked. It was different to get to know her this way.

By the third week of MIA parents, the people in charge of us decided to send us to school. We were going to be released from the hospital too. After school, we were to go to 673 Placid Drive. It was supposed to be a girls' home for the kids separated from their parents during the chaos. There we would be free to pretty much rule over ourselves. We were expected to go to school and stay out of trouble of course, but we weren't under any obligation to anyone or anything. We had all the power in our own hands.

We went to the school at eight the following morning. It wasn't an especially large school like the one back home. There were only about a thousand kids or so. All of which had no parents at the moment. Also, it ranged from K- 12 grade. My sister was put in a third grade class with only five kids. I on the other hand was placed in a larger class with only seventeen kids. I watched the kids wander around the room as the teacher pulled out a book.

There were too girls sitting on either side of me. I decided the quiet one with long brown hair would have a good explanation. She was writing something on a piece of paper titled 'Sanctuary'. I tapped her on the shoulder and startled her. She pulled out an ear phone and stared at me.

"Sorry," I apologized. "Aren't we supposed to have some sort of work to do?"

She smiled at me and took her other ear phone out. "You're new here, huh?" I smiled shyly and nodded. "Cool. I'm Jessica. That's Lasey." She pointed to the blonde sitting next to me. She was shouting at a boy across the room, but when she heard her name, quickly snapped her head back around to see why it was said.

"What?" She looked around trying to find the source.

"Lasey," Jessica called to the blonde-haired girl. "This is the new girl."

Lasey looked at me; analyzing me. "What's your name?" she asked.

"It's M—" I stopped. I didn't know these girls. I didn't really want to know them, anyone for that matter. I didn't want to get to know them, befriend them, and love them even, just to have to part from them eventually. I quickly thought of a different name. "I'm Jomaris. It's a mixture of Jose and Maria."

"That's really pretty," Jessica said "but I don't think I can pronounce that." Of course, she couldn't. It was a made up name. "Mind if I call you Jo?"

"No," Lasey protested. "That's for a guy. Let's call you Jojo. It's much cuter than Jo." This wasn't good. They were becoming attached already. Nicknames were not okay. Too bad, I didn't have the guts to tell them otherwise.

"That's fine," I agreed.

"And you can call her Jess, if you want." Lasey chimed in.

"So…What with this class?" I asked again.

"This is what you would call a free class," Jessica replied. She wrote something down on her paper before continuing. "The teacher doesn't give a hoot about the kids in here and he could care less what we do with ourselves." Well that cleared up a lot. I looked back down to the paper Jessica was writing. I figured it was a song the way the words blended together so perfectly. There were some weird words she was writing though that didn't make any sense.

"What does that say?" I asked her.

She smiled at me again. "wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I." Perfect. That explained everything. "It's backwards," She explained. "Read it backwards and you'll understand."

Looking at it backward did make sense. "Oh. I get it now." I couldn't help but smile at her. "I take it those verses are the same?" I pointed to some lines toward the middle of the page.

"Yeah. Snwod dna spu ynam os. That means 'So many ups and downs.' Snoitome eurt deen I. 'I need true emotions.' Wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I. 'I need more affection than you know.'" It was amazing how anyone could have put all that together. If I was decoding the song, I would have just thought that person was singing in a different language.

...xXxXx...

During lunch, I was able to get to know the girls. Jessica and Lasey had been friends since the fourth grade. They grew to be friends though a common interest in video games. Before the disasters, they lived in bases six. The night of the tsunami, Lasey had spent the night at Jessica's house. Unable to contact Lasey's parents during the evacuation, they fled to base seven. When that base was hit with tornadoes, they were separated from the adults. Luckily, they were able to hitch a ride out of the bases with a newlywed couple. Since then they have been staying in a girls' boarding home.

I was surprised to find out that it was the same home my sister and I were going to be staying. "You're going to love it," Jessica said enthusiastically. "There's no one to tell what to do. The adults always hook us up with the latest games. And there's no curfew or restrictions besides behaving ourselves."

"Your sister will love it to," Lasey said chiming in again. "The younger kids tend to flock together and leave the older, more mature kids alone." She gestured to herself when she said 'more mature,' giving me the impression that she was much less than mature. "There's also a plus for our class," she said grinning.

"What?" I asked curiously.

"No homework," she said grinning. "So while most kids are doing their homework, we have the opportunity to hang out or work. I mean… If we want to that is." I couldn't help but smile at the thought. Being able to do what I wanted, when I wanted, with no one to tell me how wrong I was. It would be a sort of blessing. A change from the routine I was used to back at home at least.

"Sounds fun," a voice said from behind. A boy about our age was standing directly behind me. He was fairly tall with jet black hair and a very elegant posture, as if he belonged to a wealthy family.

"Hello Stephen," Lasey greeted. "How're you?" She was talking as if she didn't want to be bothered by him. Personally, I thought he was somewhat cute. "This is my new friend Jojo."

"I think you mean our new friend," Jessica corrected. Stephen looked at me and mouthed a hello.

"Whatever," Lasey continued. "So Stephen how's Luna?" She sounded more interested now.

He smiled smugly before answering. "Luna's better. She has a little cough, but she's alright." He looked at me and smiled more genuinely. "So… How're you enjoying your first day?"

"O-oh," I stammered. I was caught off guard. I didn't really expect him to talk directly to me. "It's been a little… laid back, so to speak." This comment made his smile widen. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the slightest snicker escape Lasey and Jessica.

"Well, as long as you're enjoying yourself, I guess that's alright." His smile made my heart flutter a little. However, a strange pang out guilt was swelling up inside of me, replacing the fluttering. "I guess I'll see you girls tonight then." This made me panic. What did he mean by that? I thought. I watched as the girls waved to the retreating figure. Then the giggling began.

I stared as Lasey and Jessica broke into a dead laugh. "What?" I asked, feeling they were laughing at me.

"You didn't notice?" Lasey asked. Honestly, I had no idea as to what she was referring. I shook my head and they just laughed harder. "He likes you," She said matter-of-factly.

"And judging from your reaction to him," Jessica chimed in. "I'd assume that you kind of like him too."

"That's absurd," I replied. My face was getting hot suddenly.

"Sure," Lasey agreed sarcastically. "The blush on your face is just from the heat of the lights." This caused another wave of laughter.

They were foolish. I didn't know the kid to like him like that. I was still getting over the loss of someone else. Sure, he was cute, but… A flash of Darius suddenly crossed my mind. The feelings of hopelessness and guilt were swallowing me once again. My breathing was coming out sharp and sweat was beading on my forehead. I needed to leave. I needed air or I would suffocate.

"Jojo," Jessica called. "Jojo, what's wrong?" Her eyes were piercing and intense. Not bothering with an explanation, I quickly gathered my books, stood and sped out of the cafeteria. No one bothered to follow me. I doubted anyone really gave a second thought to a girl running out of the school. Only the janitor asked where I thought I was going, but even him I ignored.

I found a quiet shady spot on the side of the building. I sat there reliving the horror of the day I was rescued. I watched in my mind, the fight Darius and I had put up against the black monsters with the yellow eyes. As the gentle, protective boy fell from the ladder. I watched as the shadowy creatures engulfed his body on the ground. I listened to the pilot say there was nothing left to be done. That no one could survive a fall like that.

Then the memory of the more recent week showed itself. I listened to the pilot explain that there was nothing on the ground when they arrived; that I was probably 'hallucinating' because of the cold. I watched the blood flow from my wrists that were covered for the day. I listened as the doctors discussed the possibility of my parents being dead, when they thought the drugs had knocked me out.

I folded my arms and removed the bandages covering my wrists. The wounds were healed now. All that was left of them were long, pink scars. I ran a finger over them to feel the rough skin. They would always be there now, serving as a memory of him.

I crossed my arms and rested them on my knees. There was no way I could like him. But they didn't know that. And I was blushing pretty hard. So what if he was cute. Nothing could take the place of Darius, even if I'd only known him for a few months.

I was about to go back inside, when someone tapped my shoulder. I looked up quickly to see a girl staring at me. She had long, flowing red hair and serene eyes. I had my assumptions that all the boys in the school were after this one.

"Are you alright?" she asked me. I nodded, looking back down at the ground. "Good. I thought you had gotten hurt or something along those lines."

"No. I was just remembering something that I didn't want to think about."

"Oh… That happens to me sometimes. And then they won't go away when I want them to." She was right. They didn't go away. They were always there to torment me and keep me awake at night. I couldn't help but smile at this girl. She was so gentle that I felt I could open wide up to her. I didn't even know her. "I'm Luna," she said as if reading my thoughts.

"M—Jomaris. Or Jojo if you prefer." We shook hands and started walking back to the school. There was only about ten minutes left before we had to leave again, but we were supposed to be inside when the bell rang.

...xXxXx...

For the next ten minutes, I learned as much as I could about Luna as I could. She lived in the same boarding house as the other girls but had an after school, part-time job that she didn't leave until 5:30. It was something she enjoyed and kept money in her pocket. Other than that, she was an only child with weak health. She spent a lot of her time in the hospital and nurse's office for treatment. Her parents died in base four when she was ten and lived in the boarding home ever since.

"Wow," I said. It was the only thing I could think of to say. "You've had it rough since you were little too. Actually, you've had it much worse."

She smiled and looked into my eyes. "Unforeseen occurrences; they can leave us pretty helpless at time, huh?" I smiled back and listened as the bell rang telling us to get the heck off the campus. We walked to the train station together. Luna's came first. She had to go to work and said she would see me later when she got back from the job.

Once she got on her train, I was surprised by familiar faces calling to me from the other end of the station. Lasey and Jessica were standing there with my sister in between them. I waved to them and began walking over to where they were. Even though the train was long gone, I looked back down the tracks to see the little speck in the distance.

I was still walking when I had looked back and didn't see the boy walking in my direction. One flaw that I had since I was little was my slow reactions. It has caused me to trip going up stairs, fall over small stones, and even walk into wide walls. Now it wouldn't let me move out of the way for the passing boy. We smacked right into each other before figuring out what had happened. I was on my butt in the matter of seconds.

"Ow! What the heck?" I looked at the boy on the ground next to me. He was sturdily built with midnight black hair and eyes. He was burning holes right though my eyes. "Oh… I'm so sorry." I stood up and offered him a hand. Refusing the offer, he stood up, picked his bag off the ground, and walked away.

Lasey and Jessica ran to my aide. "Are you okay?" Jessica asked.

"I'm fine," I said looking down at my hand. Maybe he was just shy, I thought. "I'm fine."

"That was really rude of him," Lasey steamed watching the boy as he sat on a nearby bench. "He could have at least accepted the help being offered."

"Jonathan's never been a big fan of help," Jessica reminded her. "You know that."

"You know him?" I asked curiously.

"Yeah," Lasey said as if that was exceedingly obvious. "He's in our class if you haven't noticed."

I looked back at the boy who was getting on another train. "Come on," Jessica said pulling my arm toward the train. "This one's ours."

My sister was tagging along quietly behind us. I grabbed her hand causing her to look up in surprise. This was the first form of affection I'd been able to give her since she was with me two years ago at our old apartment. She'd come down with a cold and my parents couldn't afford to take her with them to work. I skipped school that day to watch her. We played board games and watched movies the entire time. The next day she went with my mother and I went back to school to find out I'd missed an important exam.

We sat down in a booth as a server asked us if there was anything we wanted. Her cart had a variety of drinks and snacks on it for cheap prices. Back on base ten's train, we were given a cup of water for fifty cents, if we could afford it. I bought my sister a cookie and hot chocolate for only three times that much. Lasey and Jessica each bought floats for two dollars. Personally, I didn't see the point in mixing ice cream and cream soda together. I asked for a coffee, which was a dollar twenty-five. I looked over to see a male server pouring a cup of hot chocolate for the boy. He was sitting at a table by himself.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lasey asked me. I nodded and added some cream and sugar to my cup. By time, I was done playing with it, it tasted as if I'd ordered hot chocolate too. "Good. I hope HE got a good bruise though." She said it loud enough for him to hear. I saw his eyes focus on me and a blush spread across my cheeks. I didn't want to cause any problems, but I doubted Lasey was going to drop the situation any time soon.

"I'll be back in a second," I said getting up abruptly before they saw the color on my face. As I did, I ran into another person.

"Whoa." Stephen said steadying me so I didn't fall over. "What you rushing for?" My blush was getting darker. This was not my day. Now at least they would think the blush was just for him.

"S-sorry," I said embarrassed that I kept running into people. "I didn't see you."

"Where were you going?" he asked curiously.

"I just needed some air." I lied. "It's a little stuffy in here."

"What were you doing Stephen?" Lasey asked. She seemed pretty suspicious of the boy.

"I came to invite you all to a party the boys are going to be holding in the boarding home." He smiled widely, flashing all of his teeth. "There won't be any new faces in the homes for a while and this is a good way to meet everyone that just joined. Jojo and Serene along with a few others will be guests of honor." Serene looked at me confused, but didn't say anything. I hadn't told her I was going to change my name all of a sudden.

"Sounds fun," Lasey said suddenly enthusiastic about it.

"That's only because you like parties," Jessica scolded her. "Let Jojo decide anyway."

"I wasn't going to make her go." Then to me "You really should go through. Parties are so much fun."

"I… I don't think so." I wasn't in the mood to go to any party. Let alone one with people I'd just met.

"Aw." She slouched back into her seat defeated, but not surrendering.

"Well, if you change your mind, the option's still there. It starts at four for anyone else." He turned around and eyed Jonathan, who was completely ignoring us. "You have to be there. You're a guest of honor too." He mouthed a "whatever" and went back to what he was doing, which included a headset and a laptop.

"He's new too?" I asked. I figured since the girls new him he must have been there for a while.

"Yeah," Lasey said, giving me that same tone she'd given me earlier. "He came from base seven about four days ago. Ever since he arrived all the girls have been practically stalking him." Then after a second thought, added "except for us of course. He's not really our type."

"Yeah," Jessica agreed. "Lasey's a cradle-robber." She jerked a thumb at Lasey for emphasis.

"And Jess likes older men." She motioned toward her in the same manner.

"I do not like older men."

"What… And I like little kid?"

I let them alone for a minute and looked again, back at the boy. He was typing something on his computer. I could hear the rapid taps of the keyboard as he wrote. I had skill in that area. My score in that particular area was a killer fifty words a minute. Too bad his computer wasn't facing this way. I was curious as to what he was writing.

There was a low hum before a man came on the PA system. "If everyone would please take their seats we will be stopping in a minute. Thank you for your cooperation." There was more static and then his voice was gone.

"Okay," Stephen said with a sigh. Then to me, "Think about it some more before you say no, okay?"

I nodded and he went back to wherever he was sitting. The girls didn't laugh at me this time. Instead, Jessica frowned. "I'm really sorry about earlier," she said. "I didn't think you would take offense to it. People normally like Stephen when they first meet him. Even when they find out he was an orphan from base four, they tend to attach themselves to him. I guess the blush made it look like you did too. Sorry if we got a little carried away." She elbowed Lasey who was a little preoccupied with figuring out what she was going to wear later. After a quick second of confusion, she agreed with Jessica on everything.

"It's not your fault," I confirmed. I didn't want them to feel guilty. "I was just remembering something that made me want a little air. It had nothing to do with thinking Stephen was cute." Wait … That was wrong. Before I could take anything back, they burst out laughing. This time, instead of trying to hide the blush, I laughed right along with them. Even though I tried so hard not become friends with them, I could feel myself slipping. Nevertheless, I knew, if I did happen to fall, I would have someone there to help me stand back up.

...xXxXx...

We got off the train on Main Street and walked two blocks to the boarding home. All of the kids, who went to the school, either lived in one of the homes or were children of the staff and teachers. Both the boys' home and the girls' were on Placid Street. Right next to each other no less. They looked like run-down orphanages on the outside, but were actually, extremely well kept and pretty on the inside. I watched Stephen and Jonathan walked into their home as Jessica and Lasey practically dragged me into ours.

As we walked in the door, the perkiest person I had ever met immediately greeted us. "Hello, there!" she greeted. "You must be the new girl. Well I'm Mrs. Donna, the headmistress of this home. It's a pleasure to meet you." She literally grabbed my arm and began pulling me down the hallway. "Let me just show you to your new room. All of those question and answer sheets you filled out really came in handy when decorating. Oh, I just know you're going to love it!"

"Donna!" someone yelled from behind us. Lasey had her hand on her hip, looking menacingly at the hyperactive woman attached to my arm. "If you going to bombard her like that… at least try and calm down a little first." The woman let go of my arm and took a step back. There was apology in her eyes but she didn't speak.

"It's okay," I comforted.

"No…" she said. "No, it's not. I do this all the time and end up driving people away." She looked up and smiled tranquilly. "Let's start over. I'm Donna." She held out her hand and I took it.

"I'm Jojo. It's nice to meet you."

"Now that that's over," Lasey jumped in. "mind if we show her the room. No homework today." Donna looked a little disappointed but nodded anyway. "Thanks."

We walked down several long corridors before we stopped. The first room we were at was for my sister. It was big with bright pink walls and purple and whited clouds reaching up to the ceiling. There were pink silk sheets and purple cotton covers and rabbits everywhere. One in particular had caught her attention. I was a big pink one in the center of her bed wearing a black top hat and a silky purple bow around its neck. The sight of it rendered us completely unimportant.

We left her there to enjoy the company of her new found love and head further down the hall to my room. My room was even more spectacular than Serene's, if that was ever possible. The walls were a pretty, navy blue and splattered everywhere with dots of golden yellow giving the illusion of the nighttime starry sky. On the far side of the room, a gigantic bed set with a high canopy. The curtains were black lace and the covers and sheets were of black velvet and silk. Five pillows lined the head of it. I turned my head to one side of the room. It had three long shelves, lined with books, CD's, and random movies. Under the shelves was a beautiful black marble desk with a computer and printer. The other side of the room had two matching dressers, a large one and a smaller one. A giant mirror filled the wall behind it.

"Wow," I whispered, barely audible. It was the most articulate thing I could think of. The something began pulling on a thought. "How does the home have enough money for something like this?"

Lasey walked over and sat on the edge of my new bed. "Pity donations," she said simply. "The wealthy families in higher bases, who didn't have to deal with all the disasters because they had enough money to leave before anything too dreadful happened. They didn't want to have to deal with us poor children so instead they send large sums of money to get us out of their hair. It's more like an, 'I'll pay you to just leave us the hell alone," kind of thing." For some reason this fact seemed to be making Lasey mad.

I looked over at Jessica, expecting her to calm her down; however, she too had a look of disapproval on her face. "They don't care about us," she said simply, catching my eye. "Not that it really matters." I didn't comment on their attitudes. As far as I knew, they had a right to feel whatever they were feeling.

"Besides," Lasey interjected. "Our main objective for now is to get you ready for the later."

"But I wasn't planning on going," I protested. Without listening Lasey sprang up of the edge of the bed and ran straight into my new closet. A few seconds later, she came out with several garments in her arms.

"You've so got to let us raid your closet every once in a while." She laid out the garments on the bed. "I figured you can pick the colors you want and I'll pick the outfit."

"How about you pick the colors and I choose what outfit to wear." It wasn't really a question but she nodded just the same.

"So you're going to come with us?" Jessica asked.

"I don't see much choice in the matter around her," I replied pointing a finger in Lasey's direction. "Besides, it might actually turn out to be fun."

"Great!" Lasey exclaimed. "As long as we're all in agreement." Jessica began laughing as Lasey handed me a bright blue blouse with lovely detail on sleeves that went half way down the arm then flared out the rest of the way. The flared out area was made of a lighter blue lace. "Take something like this color. It really suits you. And black, so that the color stands out more."

"I think I might just use this one," I confessed holding it up. "I'll find some pants to go along with it." A few minutes later, I was fully dressed in the pretty, blue blouse and a nice pair of black skinny jeans. Jessica picked out a pair of black boots with blue designs up the sides. The metal loops for the laces were also a blue color.

"You look amazing!" Lasey shouted once again back on t he edge of the bed. She and Jessica had gotten prepared while I was picking out my jeans. Lasey wore an all green mid-arm length blouse and white caprice with gold accessories, while Jessica had on a dark brown vest over a lighter brown long sleeved shirt and black skirt over black leggings. In all, we looked pretty, good.

"I still don't know about going to the party," I admitted. "I mean I still don't know anyone here but a handful of students."

"That's exactly what the party if for," Jessica said. She linked one of her arms with mine when she noticed I wasn't moving.

"Lasey came around and linked her arm around my free one. "Come on. You'll enjoy yourself. Besides," she said with a wink. "Stephen wants you to come." I blushed slightly at the thought of Stephen personally wanting me to go as they pulled me out the door of my bedroom.

I let out a laugh as we made our way down the corridors. We passed several girls on the way that looked as if they too were getting ready for the party. My sister had a group of girls around her playing and getting ready too. I was glad that she found a group of friends. I most likely would have been the best person for her at this time.

We made it to the front of the building laughing the entire way. Once we were heading out the front doors, something caught my attention. There was a girl sitting in the, what I would call, waiting area. She had long blonde hair that reached to about the middle of her back. It protruded in a bang-like way from the front of her face resembling an ant's antennas. She was watching a few little kids play next to her.

Just as Jessica pushed the front door open, her attention snapped toward us. Electric green eyes stared me down as I made my way out the building. Her rosy lips curled into smile that sent shivers down my spine. Her eyes followed me until we were safe and out of the building. Deep down in the bottom of my stomach something was churning. I knew from that point on that things were going to get progressively worse for me.

...xXxXx...

Okay ... from here on out the real stuff is going to begin. ^ ^

Hope you enjoyed. I want to here what you thought in your reviews.


	4. Friends and Enemies

Hey! I'm back! Haven't been able to update everyone since graduation but I'm here now. Hope you haven't forgotten me. Anyway, here's Chapter Four for all of my lovely readers. I hope you like what you read!

Enjoy ^^

...xXxXx...

Chapter Four: Friends and Enemies

"Not all friendly faces turn out to be your friends." Entry 20

We only had to make it to the building next to the girl's housing to reach the party, but for some reason it took much longer to arrive than the two minutes I'd estimated. As soon as we'd made it past the electric eyes off the girl in the waiting room, we'd run into two blonde teens outside of the boy's housing. One was tall with beautiful sea foam eyes. His hair was an odd combination of a mullet and Mohawk. The other was much shorter, and obviously younger, with lighter, fairer hair, which draped into sky blue eyes.

"Whoa," Lasey said too low for either of them to hear. "They're kind of hot."

"Lasey was looking at the younger one obviously," Jessica said matter-of-factly.

"What was that?" Her eyes had gotten wide and were ready to kill.

"I'm just joking." She placed her hands up defensively. "But really, they are cute. Right Jojo?" She looked at me expectantly.

"I guess," I admitted. I looked up to see the two boys walking toward us.

"Hey," the tall blonde greeted. He stopped directly in front of me, blocking any advancement to the party. "Are you guys going to the party too?"

"Yes we are," Lasey said pushing past him. "Now if you'll excuse us."

"That's cool. We got invited by some redhead named Shawn."

"Really?" Jessica asked stopping in front of the smaller blonde. "Shawn invited you? I thought Stephen set up the party."

"Stephen knows," the small blonde said, speaking up for the first time. "He said a few of us from Oblivion High could come as long as word didn't get out."

"That makes sense," Lasey said coming back toward us. "I'm Lasey." She held out her hand to the tall blonde.

He took it. "Myde. It's hard to pronounce but easy to spell." He let her hand fall and gestured toward the smaller blonde. "This is Sora. He's like my baby brother." Sora looked up at the older teen and glared.

"You treat me like a little kid all the time. You're what… two years older than me?" He stepped back and crossed his arms. Myde had a look of shock on his face.

"Sorry," he apologized. "And it's more like four years." Suddenly his attention turned toward me. "Anyways… You are?" He extended his hand to me.

"Jojo," I said taking the gesture hesitantly. He was very polite but I didn't know him to trust him with any of my information.

"She's new," Jessica said for me. "I'm Jessica."

"Well, it's nice to meet you ladies," Myde said. "We should head in though." He jabbed a thumb in the direction of the boy's boarding house. It was identical to its sister building except for the fact that it was completely decorated for the occasion. We all nodded in agreement and headed for the door of the building.

"So you guys are from Oblivion High?" Lasey asked.

"Actually," Myde explained. "We're more like transfers there." Lasey and Jess looked at each other thoroughly confused. "We were just enrolled into that school like two weeks ago. When some kid came up to us on the street the other day and asked us to come, it was nice knowing we'd get a chance to meet some kids from another school. I didn't know at the time he went to Destiny High. I mean that school is run off of charity right?"

His comment seemed to make Lasey and Jess really upset. "What's that supposed to mean?" Lasey snapped.

"He means," Sora explained, "that he's glad it was Destiny High." I looked at Sora, who had stopped next to me. "The fact that everyone in that school has gone though some hardship and survived… it's really great to know that people with such strength can still be found in this world." Lasey, over her sudden anger, was staring at the small blonde. She had a strange expression on her face in which I couldn't identify.

"We really should go in," Jess suggested pushing her way to the front of our small group. She sped up the walkway and rang the doorbell. When there was no answer, she knocked hard.

Her hand raised, about to knock again, when Stephen opened the door. He stared right past her and stared at me. He smiled warmly before gesturing for us to come in. "I'm glad you could all make it." I tried not to look at him as I passed, but couldn't help it. He was still staring at me. "Decided to come after all, huh?" he whispered in my ear when he was close enough. I shuddered at how close he'd become. Quickly I followed Jessica and Lasey, not wanting to be left alone with him. I'd have to watch myself around that boy.

...xXxXx...

We'd been at the party for almost two full hours before I wanted to leave. During that time Lasey, Jessica and Stephen brought person after person up to meet me. Several others, including my sister and the boy, Jonathan, from earlier, were also on display. While my sister loved all of the attention she was receiving, Jonathan and I each had a look of exasperation on our faces.

We sat together on a sofa awaiting the next round of classmates and housing members. "Bet you wish you could just leave," he said talking to me for the first time. I looked over to him in astonishment. This was the first time he'd spoken to me.

"A little," was all I replied. "Sorry about earlier. Bumping into you I mean."

He looked at me with not much interest before speaking again. "Don't be. I'm Jonathan. Or Jon if you prefer." He stuck out his hand to me.

"Jomaris," I said taking his outstretched hand. "Or Jojo."

"I figured getting dragged off to a party your first day in a new place has got to be kind of intimidating. Or at least a bit annoying." The way he spoke made me believe that was how he was feeling. He looked away toward a few kids hanging around in a corner with DS's in hand.

"How long have you been at the home?" I asked. The girls seemed to have a good feel about this boy, but he was obviously somewhat new to the place being a 'guest of honor' and all.

"Me? I was put here about a week ago. A few of my friends and I were evacuated from base nine after the earthquake along with some people from base ten. They've been here longer though. My first stop was a nearby hospital."

"Wow," I said. "I would have thought you'd been here longer than that."

"Why's that?" He glanced at me quickly, but diverted his eyes away just as fast.

"The girls I was with earlier seemed to know you. I guess I just assumed…"

"That's the thing. Everyone around here just assumes things. They never ask." The air around us seemed to tense greatly.

"Sorry," I apologized. He looked at me with a somber look in his eyes. "I didn't mean to." I quickly scanned the room looking for either Jessica or Lasey wanting to be relieved of the tension. "I should go find the others," I said getting up quickly. As I did, I ran straight into another person. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

"Whoa," the person exclaimed, catching my arm before I could fall. "You okay?" I looked up at the boy in front of me. He had short-cropped hair; black like coal with a bright sheen to it. His eyes focused on me for a moment making sure I was all right before turning to Jonathan.

"What are you doing?" Jonathan asked the boy. He stood up and took the boys place in steadying me. "I thought you were with—"

"Kristina and Cyrah?" the boy finished, crossing his arms. "Yeah, but it turns out being surrounded by girls isn't necessarily a good thing." I was confused. I had no idea who or what they were talking about and I didn't think it would be polite to interrupt them to ask at the moment. Dark eyes focused on my again. "Who's this?" he asked pointing his chin at me.

"Jojo," Jonathan responded letting go of my arm. "I bumped into her on the way back from school." He glanced down at me with eyes that yelled you really ARE a clumsy person.

"Oh. You're the newest resident to the home," the boy stated then stuck out his hand. Attentively I shook it. "I guess it's always nice to meet someone new. I'm Bradley by the way, Jon's friend from base nine. We came here together. More of less." Jonathan nodded and seemed to be in thought, his previous edgy mood gone.

"You guys were stuck with the snow too, right?" I asked recalling the news report that morning after Darius had spent the night. The thought of Darius made my chest hurt.

"Yeah," Jon said. He moved away to sit back down on the couch. "Were you going somewhere?" he asked in return. Bradley plopped down on the seat next to him. He had pulled out a small rectangular game from a pocket. It then occurred to me that he was one of the kids standing in the corner a not that long ago.

"Actually, I was—"

"Jonathan!" a shrill voice said from behind me, cutting me off. I saw Jonathan roll his eyes and look away from whoever it was before turning toward the voice. There stood two girls dressed in clothes similar in color but completely different in style. The taller, and clearly older girl, stood closer to us with both hands on her hips. Her semi-short burgundy hair rested lightly on her neck as her bright brown eyes glared past me toward the boys sitting down. "I told you to tell me when you decided to talk to her," she started. "I was going to introduce everyone."

The girl behind the first sighed and turned to stare at something in another direction. She had pretty, brown hair that billowed down to about her shoulder blades. She also had impossibly dark brown eyes that seemed to reflect all sorts of light.

"You were busy talking to Patterson over there," Jonathan replied with a wave of his hand indicating where she and 'Patterson' had been prior. "But I guess you're here now so go ahead." He let his gaze fix on a group of smaller children playing a game a half a dozen yards away. They all seemed so happy together.

"I will," she agreed and turned her attention to me. The smile she gave me was warm and bright. "Hi," she said in a hyperactive tone. "I'm Kristina, Jon's sister. But not really. We just say that because we're close."

"She started it," I heard him mutter his breath.

"You call me your sister too, so shut up."

"Fine," He said quickly putting up his hand defensively. A humored smirk crossed his face but he said nothing more.

"Anyways," Kristina continued. "This is Cyrah. My little sister, but not really." She tugged on the sleeve of the younger girl's sweatshirt to bring her close. Cyrah in turn put up a hand to wave. She smiled a small smile. "She's not normally this quiet. Once she does start talking to you, it'll be impossible to stop her." The boys each let out a soft chuckle catching Kristina's attention.

"What are you laughing at?" she snapped only making the boys laugh harder. They were obviously a lively bunch.

"Hey!" a new voice called from behind me. I turned around to see a girl with long flowing brown hair. So richly brown that it looked almost black. There was a tint of what looked blue there too. "Cy, have you seen Jess?" Cyrah shook her head no. "I knew she'd disappear." Her gaze suddenly fell upon me. "Who's this?"

"This is Jojo," Kristina volunteered. "The new student staying at the home."

"Oh," the new girl exclaimed. "I've seen her sister around here somewhere." She looked behind herself at a group of small children playing a game. Serene was among them. "She's cute."

"Yeah," I agreed. I always thought my sister was adorable, but I also thought that was only because she was my sister that I thought that.

"You came with Jess and Lasey right?" I nodded. "Come help me find them then." Without a moment's hesitation, I went to her side. "I'm Jazmin by the way," she said and held out her hand to me.

I took it. "Jojo," I replied. The name was coming more natural to me now.

"Well, I guess we should check the rec room. Jess like games." Without saying a word, I followed behind her silently. The recreation room was huge. There was a pool table, arcade games, big flat screen television sets on the walls, gaming systems of all sorts, stereos in every corner and loads of people gathered.

We spotted Jessica on the other side of the room talking to a tall redhead. We pushed our way to where the two were talking. The redhead's gaze fell upon us as we approached. He smiled brightly at us. "Hi." He greeted. He had a small triangle on each of his cheeks.

"Hi," Jazmin replied. She looked at the boy for a moment before asking, "Have we met somewhere before?"

"I don't think so," the redhead said, though his expression was somewhat analytical as well. "I'm Lea. L-E-A. Got it memorized?"

"I'm Jazmin," she said. "I had a brother named Lea before. You resemble him a little." The boy's face seemed to twist slightly then relax. "Anyway this is Jojo." She jabbed a finger at me.

"Nice to meet you both." He stuck out his hand to each of us in turn before stepping away quickly. "I'd love to stay and chat but I have to find some friends of mine." With a wave, he was gone.

Jazmin and I were both looking in the direction he went when Jessica spoke. "What are you guys doing here?"

Jazmin turned her attention back to the small brunette next to us. "Stephen said something about finding to so you can help him with an announcement."

"Oh! I forgot about that," Jessica exclaimed.

"Forgot about what?" I asked turning my attention back to her as well.

She just smiled and said, "You'll see."

...xXxXx...

Jessica and Jazmin led me back to the room where I'd talked to the kids from base nine. They had ditched the corner and the sofa and were playing a card game with several other kids. There, I was introduced to several more people it was 'important I remember.' Eight in all. The four girls were Tionna, Janay, Kaydie, and Amber. The boys were Edgar, Carlos, Brian, and Julio. I doubted I would remember everyone by the next day, but so far, I was doing fairly well.

Several kids were being led to a small platform by time I was being introduced to people. I spotted my sister among them and two others who were new to the home. "It's time already?" Jessica asked from behind me. "Come with me," she said and pulled me along toward the stage.

"What are we doing?" I asked. Lasey waved from where she was sitting with the two blondes from earlier.

"Stephen is going to make an announcement and needs all the new kids to be present."

We stopped on the platform long enough for her to position me next to Jonathan and my sister. "Stay here, okay? I'll be back once the announcement is over." I nodded and she walked away.

"You look extremely uncomfortable," Jonathan said. He was looking straight ahead but talking to me all the same.

"I don't like being put on the spot like this," I admitted.

"We don't have to do anything, you know."

I knew. Nevertheless, knowing didn't help the anxiety that was building within. It had been a problem since I was young. Just knowing people were looking at me made it hard for me to breathe.

"If I could have everyone's attention for just a few moments," Stephen began. The overhead light grew brighter and all eyes seemed to focus on the boy. "As most of you know, the remaining two bases have been cleared of all inhabitants. There are, as of this moment, no one left in any of them. Not even a dead body remains." With a sweeping motion, he gestured to our little group of newbie's. "These are the last new residents from the destruction the home will be taking in. These nine will be the last survivors. With all of our effort, we will make them feel as welcomed as we have felt." There was a loud applause as he finished his sentence.

Just as the applause died down, the lights went out. It was pitch black in the home. Serene clutched my arm tightly. There was obvious chaos all about

"Somebody please get the backup lights!" Stephen shouted from his spot on the platform.

Within two minutes, the lights were back on, but something was wrong. Of the two hundred or so students or so that had previously occupied the room, less than forty remained. Surrounding the room were tall gray creatures with a sort of insignia on their foreheads.

"What the hell are those things!" someone shouted from the floor. The small crowd on the floor started moving toward the platform in effort to get away from the creatures. I spotted Lasey, looking like she was about to hit one of them, and Jonathan's friends from earlier, huddled together.

A fire suddenly came ablaze in the middle of the room. I grabbed hold of Jonathan's sleeve as the fear that had been building inside me finally bubbled out. He, however, stared straight ahead at the fire completely unfazed. "If everyone would please calm down," a deep and stern voice shouted through the commotion, "our little visit will soon be over and done." The noise immediately died down.

I stared in the direction of the fire, the general area I believed the voice was coming from. Behind the fire, standing in the only doorway of the room was a tall figure with flowing silver hair. His expression was blank as he snapped his fingers causing the fire in the room to disperse. The man then stepped forward into the room. He wore a long black coat with matching gloves and boots.

"Who are you?" Stephen asked stepping down off the platform and in front of the crowd. "I don't recall inviting you to this gathering."

"You didn't," the man said simply. "But here I am. And now that I have arrived it is time to take what I came for." He snapped his fingers and thirteen black holes appeared around the room forming a sort of arch. A person seemed to be rising out of each one. All were dressed identical to the first man with the black coat, boots, and gloves. One by one the shadowy figures stepped from the hole as it closed behind them. "Shall we begin?"

...xXxXx...

I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as the others.

Review and tell me what you think! ^^


	5. A Deal of Unspoken Truths

Everyone's in luck! Not only is Chapter Four up, But so is Chapter Five!

Hope you like how the plots working out. Enjoy! ^^

...xXxXx...

Chapter Five: A Deal of Unspoken Truths

"Truth never seems to hurt more than when it's revealed by a good friend." Entry 23

The man in the middle of the room spoke again. "We don't wish any of you to be alarmed. We only need you in order to complete an analysis of sorts."

Stephen was the one to answer. "And what kind of analysis would that be exactly?"

The man smiled and crossed his arms. "A simple observation of your strength is all."

Stephen walked to the edge of the stage and matched the man's posture. "And how do you intend to accomplish this task without some kind of resistance on our part?" The air in the room was so tense I felt shivers.

"That would prove to be rather difficult, wouldn't it," the man agreed.

He snapped his fingers and one of the black cloaked figures stepped forward. The form of this one was smaller than the greater majority of the rest; like a female. She stopped beside the man and held out two hands as if pressing against an invisible wall. She then shifted familiar electric green eyes to the kids on the platform stage. Suddenly sparks flew from her hands. Her eyes rested on me and her lips twisted into a grin. The sparks grew greater, temporarily blinding me.

The grip Serene had on me gradually disappeared. I felt around for her only to find that she was gone. Others must have disappeared as well for several kids were calling for one another.

"Izzy!" someone shouted. "Isabella!"

"Maya?" another called out weakly. "Where are you."

I whispered my sisters name and felt around again.

As the crackling light cleared my vision came clearer. I focused my eyes on the man. Behind him were five cloaked figures. Two big muscular looking, two tall and most likely well toned, and the other the figure from before. Those electric green eyes I couldn't quite place, were still staring at me, hands holding and muffling any possible noise my sister could be making. Each figure standing by the man was holding a child, the youngest being a boy at least four years of age.

"Izzy!" the voice from before screamed. I looked over to see Bradley struggling with the two girls from earlier. They were trying to hold him back from possibly doing something stupid. But what could be so stupid about trying to save someone you care so much for. I could feel my blood begin to boil, adrenaline seeping its way into my system."Isabella!" He cried again

"What do you think you're doing?" Stephen snapped. "Let them go!" The rage in his face was building.

The man chuckled. "But of course," he said and again snapped his fingers. A black hole like the ones the figures came out of appeared under each of the children. Slowly they began to sink through the floor; and fast.

The adrenaline kicked in. I screamed Serene's name and jumped off the stage. I ran at the figure still holding her, helping her decent through the floor. The presence of another behind me caught my attention momentarily, but I dismissed it and kept running. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bradley catching up to me.

Several of the gray creatures stepped in front of us, trying to block our path. Not letting that happen, I barreled right into the first, slamming it into another that was behind it. Bradley did the same and ran into another.

One of the black cloaked figures was suddenly in my way. I crashed into it but it didn't fall. It reached out to hold me down but I resisted and swung on it, hitting it in the jaw. It seemed surprised for a moment, then, as it registered what happened, it smiled. It grabbed my wrists firmly and spun me around to watch my sister disappeared though the floor. Bradley was pinned on the floor being made to watch as well.

"No!" I screamed. My throat was dry and hurt.

Once the last child was gone, we were let go. Bradley and I sat on the floor defeated. The girls, Jessica and Lasey, Cyrah and Kristina, ran toward us once it was clear we weren't moving. All the adrenaline that was there a moment ago was almost all gone; vanished with Serene. There was no helping it now.

"As you see," the man spoke up after a silent moment. "You must cooperate with us. It in all actuality, means your life."

Several sobs could be heard from the stage. "What did you do to them?" A girl shouted. "What did you do with my little brother?" Her sobs became a wail as she collapsed to the floor.

"We've only sent them away. You see we have no need for the week here. We are seeking those with strength for our numbers, not children who cannot fend for themselves or those with weak spirits who cannot even muster up the courage to come their younger brother's aid."

The girl began to weep more. Jazmin bent down to comfort the girl. She looked up to the man and glared at him with all the hatred the world could bring forth.

"In fact," he continued. "I've definitely no use for you." He waved with his hand and another figure came forward. "Let's dispose of this one, shall we." The figure held out its hand and a blast of ice shot from its palm.

Before the blast could reach the girl, Jazmin stood defensively in front of her to protect her from the blast. She held up her arms to guard herself but did not move a muscle.

The ice never made it to either girl. A flame of fire shot up around the stage and instantly melted the ice. Both the man and the figure turned to look at another of the figures. It in turn stepped forward and spoke. "You cannot dispose of that one," he said jabbing a slender finger at Jazmin. "She's one of my candidates."

"What do you mean candidate?" Jazmin spat with as much venom as humanly possible.

"I think I'll take this one for myself if you don't mind." the man said.

"No superior," The figure replied. "I shall pick another."

"And since we've already started picking, and I'm sure you've all thought of someone by now, what do you say we wrap this whole ordeal up."

"What exactly is going on?" Stephen shouted, jumping down from the stage with Jonathan and striding over to where our little group sat. "What is it you're here for? Who are you?"

"My name," the man started. "My name is Xemnas. Superior of the In-Between, leader of Organization XIII, and in most cases, savior of your pathetic lives. If not for my subordinates and myself, the heartless would have destroyed you many moons ago."

"Heartless?" I asked breathlessly. Heartless. The word brought to mind the blackened creatures that frequently attacked me in my dreams. The heartless creatures that took Darius from me. "Darius," I whispered.

Xemnas cut his eyes to me. "We've come to find strong hearts to add to our ranks," he added. "This school has a reputation for sheltering just that. You all are candidates my subordinates have personally chosen. Well that is," he said looking at the girl Jazmin was guarding, "most of you are."

"And how do you plan on proceeding with this scouting trip of yours?" Jazmin asked from her place on the stage.

"It's quite simple really. See we've been observing your reactions to our presence since our arrival in the northern bases. The lot of you took the destruction of your homes very well. Even displaying great courage at points." He gestured to both me and Jonathan, who was standing behind me.

"You made all of those terrible things happen!" A girl accused from on the stage. I recognized her as one of the girls I'd been introduced to by Luna. Her name was Melissa. She was a tall blonde with little kids all around her. Only now there were no children, for they were all gone.

"Very clever, this one," Xemnas praised with a hint of sarcasm."Yes we caused that madness. We had to fish the strong out into the open. The weak wouldn't have survived or they'd have been taken by the heartless. I would say it was a success wouldn't you?"

"You're a monster!" she screamed at him. "The most heartless creature of them all!"

"I am very heartless," he agreed. "More than you'll ever come to know." He waved his hand again. "I'm done here."

A wave of drowsiness suddenly washed over me. Everyone around me and on the stage were collapsing. Then everything went black.

...xXxXx...

I woke to a bright light in my eyes. Lasey was bent over me shining a miniature flashlight in my face. She had a worried look on her own. Jessica was standing behind her with an equally worried expression.

I swatted her hand away and sat up. I was laying on a bed with a soft black bedspread. The room however, wasn't mine. The blue walls were a pale gray and there were stacks of electronics in every corner. Laptops, video games, CD's, movies, fancy looking gadgets, everything.

"Where are we?" I asked whoever was nearest.

"In the boy's dormitory," Jessica answered. "Jonathan let us use his room until you woke up. You've been asleep for two days."

"Two days?" I repeated.

"Yeah. We didn't know you'd wake up. You and seemed to never wake, though she opened her eyes last night."

"What happened thought?" I asked getting up. I was fairly sure Jonathan would like his room back.

"We don't know," Lasey said. "We were all put to sleep by one of those guys in black. Who knows what they did after that. What we do know is that there are only thirty of us left in both homes."

"Twenty-eight," Jessica corrected.

"Whatever," Lasey said dismissing her. "The point is, they were gone and so were sixteen others who'd been with us after those people showed up.

"Do you think they were the candidates that man was talking about?" I asked

"I don't think so," Jessica said. "Jazmin was definitely a candidate. Xemnas said so. And that girl, Tina, who broke down crying is gone."

My chest tightened at the thought of what might have happened to them. I frowned thinking back on the other day. Something was bugging me. The eyes of that one figure. The coats they all wore. Even the word 'heartless'. All of it was somehow familiar, but I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"There's something else," Jessica said pulling me away from my thoughts. "When we woke up, everyone seemed fine. But we all had these marks on our hands. Almost like letters." She held up her hand so I could examine it. On her hand were the letters V, I, I and I. Lasey held up her hand as well. It was identical except for an X being where Jess's V was.

"Well," Lasey said. "Now that you're awake, we can have that meeting Stephen's been wanting."

"Sounds like a good idea," Jessica agreed. "Because we really need to get some things sorted out." They made their way to the door and I followed.

...xXxXx...

The meeting was utter chaos. We met in the rec room in the boys home. Blankets were strewn across the floor from where everyone was slept. None of the girls wanted to go back to the girls home and the boys didn't want to let those who did. Everyone was freaked out and the entire meeting was unorganized. Everyone had an opinion and everyone was talking over one another.

"What are we going to do about this?" someone shouted.

"Who were those people?" another shouted.

"We need to find where everyone was taken."

"We need to kick those creeps asses."

There was a loud banging on one of the tables. Everyone quieted and looked toward Stephen. He had a pool ball in his hand. Once he got everyone's attention he spoke calmly and reassuringly. "Everyone needs to clam themselves. Before we can do anything we need to figure out who's still with us and who's missing."

Some one in the back of the group stood and pushed his glasses right on his nose. His brown hair swooped into his eyes causing him to brush it out of his face several time before it stayed. "Over the past twenty-four hours the twins and I compiled a list of just that." I heard several snickers throughout the group.

"Thank you Corey," Stephen said. "I'd like to see that when you have the time."

"Of course."

Someone else stood up. A girl. She had to be the youngest person here. Her short black hair and blue eyes made her completely adorable. "Are we going to find my big brother, Stephen?" She was so small. And to think those creeps would brand here and take away her brother.

Stephen came over and crouched in front of the girl taking her hands. "We'll try our best," he said softly. He seemed to be thinking for a moment. Suddenly he stood upright and walked back to the front of the room. "Okay, this is what we need to do. First we need to figure out who … what … those people were. Then we need to secure the perimeter of this place. We're officially safe no where. We'll have a group go to the girls dorms and get anything that could be useful here. Another with patrol outside at intervals to make sure no one suspicious decides to pop up."

"We making groups now?" A boy I remembered as Brian said. "This feels like school." He crossed his arms and leaned back in a chair while three boys around him snickered.

Stephen smiled. "Luckily for us, Mr. Holly here has volunteered to take the first patrol shift. If he disappears in an hour we'll know patrols aren't safe either."

Brian paled. "Why me?" he complained. "And by myself?"

"No. We'll have patrols of three people at a time." Stephen turned and spoke to everyone else. "Is there anyone here who would like to join Mr. Holly's patrol group?"

There was utter silence. Brian muttered something to his friends and punched one in the arm.

"I'll do it," Corey said raising his hand. "I'll patrol."

Brian scoffed. "Mr. Science major wants to do patrols? This is gonna be just -"

"Shut it Holly," a bigger boy said from nearby. He was sitting next to Jessica. They looked alike. Maybe they were brother and sister. "I volunteer too. But I'll be in charge," He looked at Brian. "So you'll have to listen to me."

"No way am I listening to this angel," Brian said. A boy named Edgar laughed.

Stephen caught this and raised an eyebrow. "Good another volunteer. Thank you Mr. Matos." Edgar looked shocked. Obviously he didn't expect to have the same fate bestowed upon him as his companion. "We still need a few more."

A boy with fair hair raised his hand. He looked thin and weak. Almost sickly pale. How did he expect to help in any way? "I'll help," he said. His voice was strong and unwavering washing away any doubt I had.

Two more hands flew up from behind him. It was Jonathan and his friend from the other night. "So will we."

"Perfect. I'll let Angel tend to the patrol arrangements. Everyone else please divide into groups. We're going to use these groups to keep track of everyone easier." Once he finished his sentence the chaos resumed.

...xXxXx...

The next hour was one of the longest in my life. We didn't seem to get anything done. Brian, Jonathan and Angel took the first patrol in the middle of the meeting. Stephen, a redhead named Shawn and another kid named Thomas were put in charge of the groups we were divided into. I was put with Stephen. But I guess that was better than the other two.

We were in groups of three right now scouring the girls dorms for anything that could be useful or anyone that might still be there. There was no one, but we found loads of food, computers, and other stuff that could be useful.

"Wanna check your room?" Lasey asked stopping next to me. "We don't really know everything that's in there. Maybe we'll find something useful."

I shrugged. "It can't hurt to look." We went directly to my room to investigate.

I made may way over to the PC on the black marble desk. It was on. I pushed the mouse and a giant cat head popped up with a speech bubble next to it. 'Hello,' it read. 'Welcome to the Home!' I clicked the button and logged on.

"You have awesome clothes!" Jessica squealed. Her and Lasey were raiding my closet again.

I shook my head and rummaged through the files under Hobbies. The files were so organized it was funny. Hobbies, Art, Clothes, Sketches. I clicked on Designs and surprised myself. It was a full folder of scanned sketches I did. Page after Page of clothes I'd draw out during the blizzard.

"This is confusing," Lasey shouted from in the closet. "Nothing in here is organized. It's all mixed up. And they're numbered in a type of bar code order."

I looked through a few more scans. "Find me item MB17-09X." It was a personal favorite of mine. One of my better designs. A black mid sleeved wrap-around shirt that tied on the side. There were cut-outs on the shoulders and a not too low v-cut.

Jessica came out carrying a copy of the shirt. I took it and examined the material and dimensions. "What did you find?" She asked me.

"Clothes I designed during the blizzard." I turned the screen toward her so she can see. Lasey walked up beside her with a bright green blouse in her arms. They both eyed the shirt in my hands.

"You made that?" Lasey exploded after a few minutes. I just nodded. "Did you make all of those clothes?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. I wouldn't know."

"Awesome. You've so got to design my next wardrobe."

I rolled my eyes and shooed them away. I quickly scanned through the rest of the files on the computer. I stopped over a file titled Darius. My heart picked up speed until I could feel the blood in my ears.

I clicked on it and the document popped open.

"_Dear Melody,_

"_Sorry to have you worry about me for so long. I thought it best if I'd disappeared from your life. At least as the Darius you once knew. I will see you soon, however. Those creatures are still after you. And only one will be able to survive._

"_You must be wondering how any of this is possible. You see it was all planned out. When the creatures pulled me down from the helicopter I was supposed to make my escape. However, I was knocked unconscious. When I came to, it was seventy degrees in base ten, and in complete ruins. A search helicopter occupied by some friends of mine found me and brought me to safety where I stayed for two weeks._

"_The creatures attacks have multiplied since. I feel they will not stop the chase until they have had their fill of hearts. I fear as well that they will succeed in taking yours if you are not careful. You are not safe in the home. It will not stand forever._

"_I will be watching over you in the meantime. No matter where you are, I will be there. Please don't forget me. I love you so much. Until we meet again._

_"~ Darius Z."_

I couldn't believe what I was reading. How could this be? Darius was alive! And somewhere nearby! And he said … he loved me …

My thoughts were interrupted by an earsplitting scream. I turned and was knocked out of my chair and thrown to the ground. I blur of back blocked the girls from my view. They were screaming. I could hear them. There was a weight pressing me to the floor. As my eyes focused I could make out the yellow eyes and black bodies of those blackened creatures.

"Get off me!" I screamed at the creature and shot it off my chest. It exploded into a cloud of smoke and I stood. Jessica was behind the smoke with a long jagged piece of something in her hand, using it like a sword.

"What the hell is going on?" Lasey yelled a little ways away. "I thought we left these things when we left base six!" So they had encountered these creatures before too?

"Look out!" Jessica shouted at me. I turned and was knocked again to the floor. This time by a huge black creature with a heart shaped hole in its center. Heartless!

I grabbed a chain I'd left in my room when I first arrived. With all my strength I whipped the chain at the heartless. It didn't disappear the way the others did. It just stumbled back a bit giving me the opportunity to stand. Jessica lunged and stabbed at the creature and Lasey was throwing heavy things at it from near the bed. It wasn't going anywhere though. This one definitely wasn't like that others.

The room was growing cold and the lights began to flicker. "How do we get rid of it?" Jessica asked. "It's so much stronger than the ones we've battled before."

"I don't know," Lasey said throwing a book at the heartless.

Suddenly the heartless let out a cry. It seemed to glare behind itself. Standing there was a figure with a book in its hands and a black coat. The person was unmistakably one of the creeps from the other day. He chanted something from under his breath and the heartless was gone. The figure snapped the book shut with a loud slam.

"So the big creature leaves and we get stuck with a freaky occult member?" Lasey asked coming up to where Jessica and I were standing.

The figure removed his hood and looked at us all. Underneath the coat was a boy about our age with slate-blue hair. He had beautiful cerulean eyes an aura of wisdom about him. I knew who he was immediately.

"Darius?" I asked. This was Darius. That meant the heartless didn't kill him. That he survived the fall. That he was also part of the cause of all the disasters.

Darius looked down away from me. "I'm very sorry to have to place you all in this situation," he spoke. "But you must come with me. For your own safety."

"What makes you think we're coming with you anywhere?" Lasey spat.

"Darius," I said calmly taking a step toward the boy. The boy who was supposed to be dead. "You're alive. You survived." I couldn't control myself as tears spilled down my face and I threw my arms around his neck.

"You know this creep, Jojo?" Jessica asked coming up behind me.

I couldn't answer do to the sobs escaping my mouth. I caught Darius's confused look at the name. He said nothing, however; just held me at arms length. Then, "You have to come with me. Now."

This was so confusing. How could he be with the people responsible for destroying our homes and separating us from our families. "Darius, what's going on? What are you dressed like those creeps that did all of this to us? Why … did you leave me? Let me think you were dead?"

"I'm sorry to have made you think I was dead. I'm so sorry I left, but I'll explain later. Right now you have to come with me. You're not safe here."

Lasey pulled me away from Darius and shoved me into Jessica. "We're not going with you. You're part of that group that did this to us," she held up the numeral on her hand, "aren't you?"

Darius was silent a moment, then he nodded. My chest tightened. "Yes, I am. You've met quite a few of us actually. And I know you don't trust us, but if you don't the heartless are going to kill you."

No one spoke. There was so much information to take in. "Isn't this just so touching?" A voice came from the hallway. A familiar boy with bright red hair stepped in dragging a struggling boy behind him. It was the pale boy from before. "But if we don't get out of here soon, the whole place is going to collapse on us. Courtesy of Lexaeus."

"Lea?" Jessica said, shocked at the presence of the redhead. "You were with them too?"

Lea looked at her with sad eyes and opened a hole in the middle of the wall. "We'll have time for reunions later. For now, you'll either go through the portal willingly or not-so-willingly."

"You're not making me do anything," Lasey protested and crossed her arms over her chest.

Lea just grinned. "You'll have plenty of time to find out what I will and will not do." Quickly he shoved the boy through the portal and threw Lasey over his shoulder before she could even gasp another protest. "If you'll be so kind as to follow." He jumped through the portal with Lasey.

I looked at Darius wanting answers but he was looking down. "He wasn't lying when he said the building was going to collapse," he said. "So please, just come with me." He stepped forward and took my hand.

I looked over at Jessica who was staring questioningly at the black hole I the wall. Then she stepped through. I looked back at Darius. "I can't." I said breathlessly. "I … I can't do it."

Darius pulled me closer until I was in his arms and embraced me. He walked backward slowly toward the wall. "I won't leave you," he whispered in my ear. "Never again."

"I don't know that," I said surprising myself. But it was true. I didn't know that.

"Just close your eyes … and have faith."

Suddenly we were falling.

...xXxXx...

I bet no one saw that coming. ^^

What's gonna happen next? Wait and see!

Review with ideas and you might see it in the story.


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